IS Virus: Episode 2-1 -Re-Classification-
by tonbonkittybon
Summary: Phantom Task. For 50 years, it was known as a terrorist organization. Now, three lone children must now discover a new meaning as they begin their journey across the world. Not only that, they will discover a people in desperate need of help. What lessons will they be forced to learn? What secrets will they be forced to keep? CENSOR LIFTED, CHAPTER LIMIT 4500
1. Aural Reflections

_IS Virus: Episode 2.1 -Re-Classification- **[SEASON 2 PREMIER]**_

 _Part 1: Aural Reflections_

 **-PORT OF JUNEAU, ALASKA; ONE WEEK AFTER DEPARTURE-**

The team awoke early to the sound of seagulls and ocean breezes. They ran up to the deck and saw the port sign. They had arrived, not just in a city unknown to all, but in America. They bundled up and went to town, after the captain cleared everything with them and the port authorities.

With everything that happened in Japan, they decided that they needed a break from their worries and frustrations, so they booked a cabin at a mountain resort and wasted the whole week exploring Juneau. They marveled at the perfect blending of ice and nature of Mendenhall Glacier and Ice Caves. They lost themselves among the wilderness of Douglass Island. They basked in the breeze (and humidity) of Nugget Falls. They even took a risk skinny dipping outside the port. They went everywhere, did everything they could to relax their minds.

None of it worked. Each night, they went to bed, rattling their minds with questions they will never find answers to.

One day, Sokoto was snoozing the day away in a cabin, while Autumn leaned against the tree and Madoka tucked her chin inside her legs. The two stared at the vast waters that reflected the sunset and pondered everything that was thrown in their faces last minute. What was with the overly vindictive response from the UN? Why did Chloe Chronicle show up on TV? What's up with the name in the locket? And how, in all probability, did they both come into contact with the renegade prior to their little adventure in Japan?!

ON TOP OF THE ASSLOAD OF OTHER QUESTIONS THEY HAD.

"Y'know...we could just leave him here...start a new life..." Madoka mused.

"Aren't we sorta trying to start a new life right now?" Autumn puzzled, "And where would we go, exactly?..."

"I dunno...anywhere..."

"We are wanted by the fucking UN...I don't see how wandering aimlessly would get us anywhere..."

"At least somewhere..." Madoka ran through her recent memories, "Squall's axed, Ichika's an asshole, Tabane's a walking bomb, and God knows what the Empress would give to have our heads on a silver platter..."

"And what's with Squall's last words?" So did Autumn, "Why do we have to go to London..."

"To get our asses kicked by Drill Braid Woman?"

"Hot damn..."

Through her reminiscing, Madoka caught thought of one particularly dreadful memory. The day before Laura and Lingyin sent her into exile, she took part in a family outing to a yen theater (everything's only one yen!). And they caught a rerun of Finding Nemo. She was captivated by a simplistic, yet powerful story of an overprotective father searching for his abducted son. It was the only enjoyable memory she shared with the Or-

"You're doing it again..." Autumn gave Madoka a Wet Willy.

"The fucker of all mothers, woman!" Madoka held her at swordpoint, "What's wrong with you?!"

"One: I'm still alive. Two: your little Just Keep Swimming chant."

"Ggg..." This trip has been nothing but stress for her. If only the renegade would've stayed out of their lives.

Wait, they would all be killed by now...

"I'm gonna go fish..." Madoka recalled her lance and stormed off towards the lake.

"First humans, then ISs, now fish?" Autumn quipped, deploying her Shinomure, "No wonder you lost to Chi-nee-WAZAYAK!" Blocked Madoka's Sonic Thrust.

"SHUUUUUT UUUUUUUUUUUP!" Madoka forced Autumn into a no-flight "practice bout."

Which she handily won one hour later.

"Ohhhhh...my everything hurts..." Autumn groaned.

"Let me take care of that," Madoka got ready to shove her sword into Autumn, but she was strapped with a Canceller last minute. She just picked up a couple twigs and chased her around.

Sokoto was already awake midway through the fight. He felt how much frustration they built up since they landed. He saw just what it could do. He knew he had to do something about it, but for the first time in a long time, he did not know what. This coming from the guy who was always thinking one step ahead and dragging everyone into a bigger mess than intended. As he watched Madoka and Autumn mismanaging their emotions, he wondered how much damage he really did to their psyches before he came across Silvia.

He whispered, "I see carnivores..."

Thankfully, dinner time was a lot more tame. Madoka and Autumn were covered in makeshift bandages, slowly eating Sokoto's Squirrelly Salad Special. It wasn't bad, but it certainly didn't do anything to lift Madoka's spirits. The Aurora Borealis seemed to have dazed Autumn into a dopey state.

"The hell is wrong with you?..." Madoka mumbled, "You want another stick up your ass?"

"No..." Autumn laid back with drool dripping out of her lazy smile and sleepy eyes, "I'm satisfied..."

"She's going to roll all over you, Anna..." Sokoto said.

"The fuck I am!" Madoka clopped one on his forehead.

"Oh, I wouldn't mind that one bit..." Autumn wagged a makeshift cat tail over the fire and into Madoka's nose. She noticed Madoka trying to swing her sword down, but wound up tearing a tendon in her armpit, making her sink in defeat. "Ha ha haaaa!" She taunted, "Better luck next time, NYAAdoka!"

"Shut up!" Madoka shouted, "I'll kill you next time!"

"Why ain't you kill me yet?"

"How should I know?! I don't have any of your idiot genes!"

"Oh, I'm gonna make us a comedy duo for sure!"

"Rrrrgg! I'll tear your tendons off towards the end of your ass cheeks!"

"If your BO don't do it first. Your shit STANKY!"

Sokoto left during their bickering and hiked up to the top of the hill. He wanted to see the Borealis dance across the night sky, in full view of the city and the starlight horizon. He stared at the lights, noticing how they changed color in tune with the arctic winds, shining each shade of the soul upon the city. He took it all in, unconsciously altering his own aura in tune with the dancing colors. It was five minutes until he noticed something glowing from his wrist. He was bewildered. Silvia shouldn't have been able to respond to him, or to anything. Then, he remembered what Silver showed him. When she was defeated, she put herself in Safe Mode until someone could reactivate her. But she did so willingly. Silvia was forced into hibernation. Even so, if an IS in standby mode responded to the Aurora Borealis...

He held his left wrist up and let his bracelet's glow pulse with the lights. And he started talking, "Hey...Silvia...Sorry it's been a long while, got...a lot of stuff I had to take care of...I don't usually do this, but I think we got some catching up to do... and, well, dunno if you were conscious during the whole shebang, so I'll just say it. The world is fucked. Ok, it is fucking fucked. We...me, Autumn, and Madoka, we buttfucked it all the way. And, I ran into Silver-Silverio Gospel, sorry, she's your younger sister who...sacrificed herself to save Autumn and Madoka. Dunno how ISs can come alive, but don't care. She came alive...to our rescue. That's all that matters. And as a result, Japan has been...exposed, so to say. Male prison camps, women taking men like rag dolls, the works. All on account of us being nosy assholes. Us being Phantom Task...what's left of Phantom Task...minus Squall. I ain't gonna let this go, Ponyboy...but, yeah. Squall's gone. Our mother is gone... and it looks like I gotta take over. I know, 16 years old, gonna father an 18-year brat and a 19 year old death bomb. But I... I know we're killers. I know we killed a lot of people, done some bad things...but I gotta do something. I been around the world more times than they have. If anything, and I just figured it out after I blew a gash in the world's most sacred pimple...I gotta redeem them. Redeem all of us. And the only way I can do that is by rebranding basically the only thing keeping us together. Phantom Task. Over fifty years has it been a terrorist organization. That's gotta change. We can't bring terror just for the heck of it anymore. We have to do something for the world, get it back on track. And god knows what crazy shit everyone else is up to. So, I can start rebranding...which means I gotta calm Nyanyan and Pothead over there. Whoa...they're at it again. We definitely cannot terrorize just for the sake of terror anymore." He showed his bracelet the fruits of his motor mouth. Honestly, it felt like he was watching a live action episode of Tom and Jerry, only it was Madoka and Autumn.

"Yeah...I got a lot of work to do. I hope you can help me calm these guys down...or at least talk to us someday. I miss you, Silvia. I know that that's saying a lot, considering I'm talking to a piece of jewelry, but... I really do miss you." And he hung up and...ahem...spin dashed down the hill, straight into Madoka's heiney. She slammed her face into a tree. Autumn looked back and laughed, only to be knocked down by a branch and hit the grass with spinning pupils.

"Pbbttt-D'AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!" Sokoto howled, "You two look like Grade-A whackamoles! What, you got your mother to decorate you into a Wookie?!"

For some reason, that really pissed them off. They immediately got up to their cat fighting stance and ran after him. With their ISs out of commission, they relied on their physical abilities and the forestry around them to bring him down.

They wasted the night on a fool's errand. By sunrise, all three were stretched out, lying in a triangle, completely exhausted, fighting their mistimed laughter to catch any possible breath. Well, Madoka and Autumn were. Sokoto was just chuckling. He couldn't believe how much the old scapegoat stratagem helped them let go. They were laughing so hard, their auras changed completely; they were warm and welcoming now. They all calmed down long enough to inhale and sigh in unison, then take one long minute of silence before Autumn said something.

"What's gotten into us?" she pondered.

"I dunno..." Sokoto said, "but I like it..."

"Well...we're near Canada...wanna go there next?"

"Yep. Then, I'm gonna trek across the USA again."

"Aren't we technically in America?" Autumn asked.

"This is just a satellite state, not a real one!" I take it back! Sokoto's the one who needs help! "I'm talking about the real American land, not some frosted ass excuse to get out of the 40s! Ain't that right, M?" Nothing. "Um...M?" He heard a gentle snore.

Madoka was sound asleep. More than that, she was smiling. She smiled for the first time since her childhood was taken away by her likeness to her two siblings. But apparently none of it made a difference to today.

"I'll watch her," Autumn wagged, "Why don't you go into town and get some supplies for the trip?"

"Ehh...sure..." Sokoto wasted no time in making his escape from the demon quarrel pair.

Inside the main street, he found a fashion outlet, a food and supplies market, and a gift shop, all of which were under mental siege from his previous exploits, which meant very small prices to prepare for the apocalypse, which meant three gigantic bags full of cheap crap. Although he went a little too in depth at the gift shop because of the knickknacks. He took a long breather at the center of the town, spreading his legs out to let the sweat escape.

"Oh, dickmoded...why'd I get all this crap..." he stubbed his toe trying to kick a backpack down. He hasn't eaten anything this morning, so he scanned his eyes for a possible eatery. There was one behind him, but it was a fisherwoman's pier, housing a group of people he never got along with. And he wasn't going to lug three miles just to eat a simple burger. He sucked up his pride and lugged the baggage into the pier.

And not two steps from the concierge did he begin to regret it. The waitress leered coldly, "Can I help you?"

"You have take out?"

"What do you think this is, a damn fast food muck?"

"If you don't want me to go in, then yeah."

The waitress looked behind her and back at his eyes. She was about to say something rude, but one look into his pupils instantly eradicated any ill will towards him.

"Uh...what?" He got uncomfortable, "What's with that look?"

She regained her senses and threw a tag at his face, "Fine. Just don't make a ruckus, got it?"

"Uh...huh..." he just walked right past her and went to the bar. Nearly every person out to eat turned their eyes to the tyke at the liquor area. He put on his earphones to block the aura sense and focus on the tv above him.

Tried to. "Hey, kid," the bartender snapped, "This is for adults."

"Tell the lady that gave this to me," he held up the tag. Bar, 5. Yep.

"Goddamn that..." was what she said before looking at his hair. "Aren't you that renegade kid everyone's talking about?"

He tensed up, "What? What are you going on about..."

"Relax, kid," she assured him, "I'm not gonna turn you in."

"Really?" He was genuinely surprised, "Why not?"

"Well, let's just say I'm not a fan of the way that I've been living."

"How come?" And he was interrupted by a-

"Ok, Grandma! I'm gonna go ho-" it's the waitress from before, "What the hell is he doing here?!"

"Oh, can it, Alyssa! He's not doing anything!"

"You don't know that! He made Japan go down the toilet!"

"Because they're keeping all the males in labor death camps."

"Absolute lie!" Alyssa stormed into Sokoto's face, "What did you do to those people, huh? What did they tell you about your stinking fatherhood?"

"That you melon heads ruined it?" Sokoto snapped back.

Alyssa thought about uppercutting him, but not only did his eyes turn deathly, but he positioned his leg against her stomach. She simply withdrew from the pier, but not before shouting, "It's you men that ruin everything! Why couldn't you just stay down?!"

"Wow..." Sokoto said, "What's got her panties bunched up?"

"A few days before the IS came out," the bartender gave him a glass of beer, "a group of thugs took her mother...my daughter...away. All because she butt in their drug dealings."

"What?" Sokoto DRANK THE THING NO PROBLEM! "What twisted concept do they see in that? I get beating her up, but kidnapping her? For what?"

"Retribution. She was a woman's rights activist. When she heard that the IS was females only, she went to gender rules activist. And she used those thugs as an excuse to demand that...ahem, "women be placed on to of the world," or some shit like that."

"And the thugs don't like when they're at the butt of that joke, huh?"

"Nope. They took her. They were going to take Alyssa too, but she managed to distract them with someone else to escape here. I been sheltering her since."

"Dang..." he said through his meal, "You think they could come here?"

"Nah, they wrote Alaska off as worthless. No point in going hunting in an empty iceberg, as they call it."

"Don't mind the small talk. But, still...I had no idea it got that bad."

"Well..." she gave him another glass, "Maybe if you could find out where they're keeping her and bring her back..."

"How? America's like 30 times larger than Japan. And Japan ain't no cakewalk."

"You found a way to expose the conspiracy about Rabbit Woman making a game of the world. I think this oughta be nothing."

"Heh, I'll buy it," Sokoto finished eating, "Thanks for the meal chat."

"My pleasure," the bartender took his plate and gave him a ticket, "Give that to Alyssa."

"Right," Sokoto nodded and lugged everything to the front, but he had an easier time doing it. Not because of the full tank, but because of the bewildered and ecstatic auras and looks he got from everyone inside. And Alyssa saw it all. She did not know he was the renegade until her grandmother said it. She didn't know whether to feel scared or angry. She froze when he gave her the ticket.

It was a coupon for a free meal, stamped to his receipt. He left before she could deliver her cold shoulder.

But that didn't stop her from giving the bartender the cold shoulder, "What did you tell him, Grandma?"

"Something that'll make you stop slouching around and start doing something," the bartender said bluntly.

"Why?! He won't help her! He won't do any favors for anyone!"

"Kinda like how you ignored my warning to stay away from the movement."

"Ugh! You...I just..."

"Look," she went up to her granddaughter and patted her shoulder, "I don't like it either, but he's our best chance of getting your mom back."

"We don't need him! We can just lure them over here and take them out!"

"One: they'll either leave her behind or kill her. Two: they have way more guns than we do. Three: can you use one of those IS things?" Her granddaughter clammed up and looked down, because they both know she scored a D- in the Compatibility Test. "Just trust him. He's the kind of guy to forget he ever had a life. He'll bring her back before long."

Alyssa really didn't like that choice of advice, but as it stood, she was indeed powerless. She came to terms with it and braced herself, "Does he even know what she looks like?"

"That's on you," the grandmother said as she saw more customers come in for lunch.

"God fucking dammit..." Alyssa muttered and clocked out.

Sokoto carried all that junk back to the cabin and dropped the bags. A giant thud rocked the cabin and jolted Madoka and Autumn off the couch and right at the doorway.

"Um...I'm back?" he said.

"Oh...welcome back..." Autumn sleepily muttered.

"I got the stuff from the town. Does that mean we can go now?"

"Sure," Autumn brushed herself off, "I'll commandeer something to drive. You get M ready."

Autumn ran out into town. Sokoto tiptoed over to the fireplace to gather the candles. One of them stood out from the rest, in that it was a regal blue tang candle. Oy vey...

He looked behind and saw Madoka sleeping upside down like a sloth, legs and arms spread out. He slowly reached for the candle-

"Trash it," Madoka suddenly spiked her grumpy aura and spooked him with two shield bits hovering above him, "NOW."

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh...hi..." Sokoto tipped the candle over and let it be, "You have a good nap?"

"I guess..." Madoka withdrew her bits and scratched her head, "Autumn said you got some things?"

"Yeah...we're going to Canada next, aren't we?"

"Yep..." Madoka stretched out, "Figured since we're all the way out here..."

"Wait, how are we gonna get from here to Canada? We can't just fly over..."

"Nah..." Madoka pointed to an empty freeway entrance, "They built that thing before we found you sand papered. No one uses it, on account of being pointless...but, what better way to use that money, huh?"

"I can think of some better uses," Sokoto smiled and veered his eyes back to the fish candle. Madoka redeployed her shield bits, but right before she could ram them into him, Autumn shredded the door.

"RENEGAAAAAAAAADE!"

"AAAAH! GODZILLA!" Sokoto screamed before whispering, "has entered her period."

"WHO...IS...THAT...WOMAN?!" Autumn panted, pointing to Alyssa of all people. Sokoto ran out to meet her like it ain't no thang. Which really ticked Autumn off, "And he just...why?!"

"They got our face all over the world," Madoka rubbed her eyes, "What did you think was gonna happen?" And after she said that, she saw them exchanging pictures, "Autumn. No. Don't even-"

"What're you doing out here?" Sokoto asked cautiously.

"Nothing that concerns you," Alyssa griped, "I'm here for them."

"They're..." Sokoto saw Autumn clawing at the door frame and Madoka trying to pull her back, "...busy...at the moment..."

"Fucking-alright, look," Alyssa shoved a picture in his chest, "Before the IS came out, my mother got snatched up by some thugs. I haven't heard from her since. Her name's Claire." She let go of him, "And that's all you'll get."

Sokoto stared intently at the picture. It showed a mother and daughter, yes, but something was off about their facial expressions. As if it physically hurt them to hug each other. He looked back up, "Couldn't hurt to show some gratitude, could it?"

"To you?" Alyssa rolled her eyes, "Please..."

"No, to your grandma."

"What are you talking about?" Alyssa protested, "I show gratitude to her all the-"

"Stop," Sokoto held his hand up to her eyes, "Your aura reeks of selfishness, regret, and the "I'd rather let my mom suffer than be rescued by those filthy dogs" vibe, lady."

"Ngh-" Alyssa couldn't get past that little number. She never wanted him to peer into her personal past, or her conflicting feelings. But her womanly instincts forced her to trust him with this mission, as well as every single secret that came with it. She turned her back to him, "Truck and keys are over there, full tank." And she ran away as fast as she could.

"Ok...I don't get it, but it looks like we're good to go!" Sokoto waved the keys to Madoka and Autumn.

Madoka crept out from the cabin, "Oh, good...then, gimme a hand with this love doll, will you?" She dragged the unconscious Autumn out, and the two stuffed her in the back, and used all the luggage to create a barricade.

 **-ONE HOUR LATER, ALASKA-YUKON CUSTOMS CHECKPOINT-**

The most amazing thing happened.

"Hey, you're Phantom Task, aren't you?"

"Uh..."

"You guys are really popular among Canadian folk. You're like heroes to them."

"Ok, that was completely unintentional. We just found some weird looking-"

"Ok, I get it. Well, here's your papers. Everything's clear. Be careful around the Vancouver area."

"Right. Thanks."

Yes. The Canadian Customs General just let Phantom Task into Canada. With little question. Who can even? No one could even.

"So, we're heroes?" Madoka cringed at the very word, which has now lost all validity and credibility to her. Anyone who sputters the word has rendered their argument invalid by default.

"Just roll with it," Sokoto said, hands behind his head, feet at the dashboard, "You'll get used to it. Besides," he held up the picture, "As heroes, a whole new world has just opened for us. New quests, new roads, new allies, and a host of new enemies."

"This ain't a video game, kid..."

"Sure it is! And we're playing it like that one game where you only have one save file," he held up his bracelet, "So, Claire and Silvia need our help..." and he drifted his eyes toward the frozen frontier.

Madoka just looked at him like he got hurt. She couldn't help but feel concern for him, as if they knew that their lives would change irreversibly the instant their true mission begins. She did not notice her hand on his lap. But he did. And he accepted it. Because this journey will be as terrifying as it will be exciting. They'll need all the comfort they can get if their pit stop in Alaska was anything to go by.

Starting now. Because Sokoto sensed an aura, worse than all those he encountered in Japan put together...coming from behind them.

"REEEEEEEEENEEEEEEEEEGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADE..."


	2. I Hate Personal Inspections!

_Part 2: I Hate Personal Inspections!_

And if Autumn doesn't drain their morale...

 **-MADE IN MEXICO, ONTARIO PROVINCE-**

"Please tell me you're not just staring at that hideous back wall, Tatenashi..." Cecilia sipped from her glass of champagne.

"I'm not just staring at that hideous back wall..." a woman with blue hair, blue fan, and a rather attractive physique mumbled, chin rested on her palm, fanning herself.

"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence..." Cecilia ate her salad and sirloin, "I mean, what else could happen besides...THIS?!" She pulled up an article at the very bottom right corner of the paper she printed earlier:

HOUKI SHINONONO TO BECOME HOUKI ORIMURA BY END OF SCHOOL YEAR

"Yeah, I know," Tatenashi smuggly wagged her fan at Cecilia, "But wasn't it you...and Laura...and Charlotte...and Kanzashi, come to think of it...everyone except me and Houki that pressured him into choosing his bride without giving him any breathing room?"

"Don't remind me..." Cecilia felled her head on her meal. That remark caused her to remember that one pivotal moment midway through their third year at the Academy, when Maya of all people popped the girlfriend question on him and everyone heaved the entire galaxy on his shoulders, and he begged them to stop but they wouldn't, even put more than was necessary on him. They made him lose it. The school fountain, anyway. So, he looked for an escape, and Houki was the only person not hellbent on making a partner out of him.

And that's when he made his choice and learned of the truth about female instincts.

"Why'd he have to pick the tomboy ribbon-head?" she sighed.

"Are you seriously pondering that?" Tatenashi said, "They're childhood friends, for starters."

"But we're BEST friends, mind you," Cecilia propped her head up and blurted out, which Tatenashi muttered incoherently 'LIE' but let her ramble on, "Plus, I clearly outrank her in skill, and in beauty and charms." Give a side wink.

"Well, I won't call you out on that," Tatenashi admitted, "but I think you forgot about her manners, heritage, cooking abilities, personality, non-pervertedness, humility, initial relationship-"

"Ok, can we change topics now?" Cecilia got annoyed.

"Oh, and did you give him any choice?" Tatenashi asked, "Like, did he get the opportunity to make his own decision?"

"Of course, I did," Cecilia bragged(?), "I offered him the choice to live lavishly in my homeland, or to rot away at his stale tradition."

"Get the FanFiction ready..." Tatenashi whispered before saying, "Still, it's your first time in Canada. What brings you here?"

"I have a mission from the Queen to intercept the renegade. But enough about me..." Cecilia resumed her usual routine, "What about you?"

"I just got a tip that the renegade is coming to Canada, so I wanted to get ready," the instant her response finished, she got hit from behind with a fanatical scream.

"Is he really coming here?!" A teenager...gleefully asked...uhhhhhhhh...

"Well, I heard," Tatenashi engaged, "Is he a hero around here?"

"Only the cutest little thing ever!" Why does she have a giant pillow with his face on it? "I'd give anything to see his adorable little face..."

"It's only been around four months," Tatenashi said, "Maybe give him a little more time?"

"Oh, I'll give him some of my free time," another fan girl? "I think he'll do much better with me than those freaks."

"But we can't use an IS, though..." the other girl said.

"Doesn't matter!" What the-

"Well, you can make up his past apparently," Tatenashi said, "he ain't in the Japanese registry. He's got the Japanese genes, but they don't know if they're legit."

"Sucks to be them, huh?" The girl said.

"I guess they can't handle a zombie with an actual brain. And a sharp one at that..." Oh give me a f-*CLANK*

Cecilia broke a stainless steel knife out of pure rage. The three looked at her with curious eyes.

"He's a thorn..." she slowly bent her fork in half, "If it weren't for him, I'd be loftily escorted by my dearly beloved to our condominium by now..."

"I see that you went off to LaLa Land for a quick counseling session," Tatenashi quipped, with the other girls chuckling, "I assume no progress was made?"

"Rgh...I'm gonna split..." Cecilia slammed her tab on the table and stormed out of the restaurant.

"Wow...what got into her?" The fan girl scrubbed.

"She got rejected," Tatenashi winked.

Cecilia stepped to the beat of her iPod, running through Coldplay's Ghost Stories album. She needed to get her mind away from everything. Ever since she abandoned her allies and fled back home, far too many loose ends have come unraveled. First, she lost her inheritance due to her breaking her deal with Parliament and Rachel's interference (despite her being able to recover 2 billion, and the Queen's insistence that it was a ruse to allow absolute cover). Then, the eruption happened. By then, she could not help but sink to her low point. Had she remained, she could've stopped him from detonating the already unstable climate. And then, the ultimate avalanche. Right after the UN Resolutions were announced, the EU declared their departure from the World Alliance and opted to form the European Commission, an entity much like the WA, but serving European and Russian interests. And that's when the Queen contacted her and directed her to Canada to rendezvous with the sleeper agent, which turned out to be Tatenashi. Which she would gladly accept over having to deal with Chelsea again.

She stopped at a corner store. She wandered inside just to see the little snacks and goodies dangling from the racks on the shelves. Simple stuff she had to stomach since her cooking abilities have only slightly improved.

"How does anyone digest this?" she muttered, "I'll bet the renegade is having a horrid time in the wild."

Well, yeah...but for a completely different reason...

 **-EAST OF WHITEHORSE, YUKON TERRITORY-**

"HOW THE FUCK DO YOU DRIVE THIS SHITBULL?!" Sokoto struggled to keep the truck steady. He was shorter than Madoka, so he dropped a heavy teapot on the gas pedal and let himself flow.

"I THOUGHT YOU KNEW!" Madoka screamed as she tried to keep a very enraged Autumn moth at bay.

"I LUCKED OUT WITH THAT CAR, OK?!" Sokoto frantically shrieked. He freaked out even more when Madoka's shield bits shattered and she slammed into the back of the truck, almost sending him careening off the freeway.

Madoka fired her lance blast and generated enough impact to keep them steady.

"You suck, you know that?!" She screamed.

"Shut up!" Sokoto threw her the bird.

"REEEEEEEEENEEEEEEEEEEEGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADE!" Autumn's bone-rattling cry shunted them both into a state of genuine terror.

"The pagans are coming! THE PAGANS ARE COMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII~~~..." and that was the last the Yukon Territory ever heard of the renegade.

 **-FAIRY LAKE, ONTARIO PROVINCE-**

Cecilia soaked her feet in the blistering cold water. She kicked around a bit before stopping to look at her faded reflection. Faded indeed. She can't remember the last time she looked in the mirror. The kerfuffle with the renegade made her forget everything about her personal cares. Without makeup, she still maintained her natural youthful complexion, but her eyes and cheeks could tell anyone who looked at her that she has seen some major shit. Her mother's words suddenly invaded her mind, and unfortunately, hers.

"You must remember, the makeup you choose will determine what face you will show."

"Why's that? I thought makeup is for making you look beautiful."

"That's only half of it. In front of millions of people, you must be strong. You cannot show any weakness, even if it's part of your own composition. Each piece contributes to the kind of woman you want to be. And in turn, the makeup will tell the story of you."

"But, what if I wanted to be strong, but with a kind heart?"

"That, I'm afraid, will be a sign of weakness. I will teach you when you're ready. For now, get yourself ready."

Hearing those words now, she couldn't help but scoff at them. She lost all respect for makeup because it can be easily washed away. Her true face has shown one way or another. What's the point of putting makeup on if it won't stay? Even more so if everyone knows your true face anyhow.

She had to know how bad the situation was. She opened a connection with the Black Rabbit Division and linked to the Schwarzer Regen.

"Alcott...?" Laura sleepily responded, "What are you doing calling me at this hour...?"

"Sorry...were you about to sleep?" Cecilia asked.

"Jaaaaaaaaa..." that was a yawn, "it's nighttime compared to where you are...what are you doing in Canada?"

"I needed to get away from the chaos of the EU..." Cecilia grunted, "seems like they all have a bone to pick with Japan... and Canada hates them..."

"I know. After the...disturbing news of the wedding... I signed Germany onto the European Alliance. It's the least I can do before I formulate a more proper counter measure."

"How did you find out? Did you read the article?"

"No. He told me after I took his second time."

"Second-you...did that with him?!" Cecilia shouted.

"Uh...yeah..."

"How was it..." Cecilia tried to hold back her anger.

"It hurt! Every time he thrust into me, it felt like he was kicking me out of his personal life more and more!"

Cecilia quivered. Either it was that big, wrong entry point, or Laura did not hit her growth spurt at all, "That's not quite what I was-wait, his second? Who was his first?!"

"Who do you think...?"

"Of course...I thought he was joking when he said it during graduation..." Bad memory once more.

"We all thought so..."

"Anyway, how do you plan to kickstart the alliance?"

"I heard Japan and China can now copy IS cores, but they're unstable, so I'm rallying other European countries to a separate department to develop our-"

"Whoa whoa whoa! Didn't you break away from the army?!"

"Temporarily. I couldn't risk my own men, so I needed absolute cover."

"Oh."

"Anyway, I'm rallying other European countries to a separate department to develop our own cores based on the resonance between the Is and the pilot. A reverse of process, if you will. I have gathered memberships from Belgium, France, Italy, and Sweden."

"What about the United Kingdom?"

"They rejected. They didn't give me a reason."

"Dammit... I see...They think that it's a competition..."

"In a way, yes. Soon, I'll amass an IS unit so powerful, Ichika will regret the day he rejected me."

"What about the gorilla who coerced him into deception?"

"I'll deal with her later. Ichika's my priority."

"Uh...huh..." Cecilia immediately thought back to the Academy days when they were all together. No trivial arguments, just a rip-roaring good time.

"You seem troubled. Did something go wrong?"

"No..." she quickly lied, "It's just...I'd love to get my hands on the renegade and strangle him with his own hair."

"Me too. Unfortunately, we've been so focused on him that we literally forgot about everything else. I have to bring everything back to order before I can...*YAAWWWNNNN*...move forward."

"Sorry...probably should let you get back to sleep..."

"Right...Good night, Cecilia..."

"Best of luck on your revenge plot..." Connection terminated.

Cecilia's mind was somewhat relieved now that she heard someone would get payback on her behalf. She leaned back against the tree and stretched her body. But then, she saw some girls looking at a cellphone showing a live news segment and jumping for joy. The news anchor reminded Ontario of the renegade's exploits and confirmed his presence in Canada, just seen entering British Columbia from the Yukon.

"Oh, bother..." Cecilia looked disgusted, "Why are they even cheering for that little troll?"

"Probably for the same reason you were captivated by Orimura's demeanor," Tatenashi literally poked her head out of the tree.

"HOLY-What is wrong with you, woman?!" Cecilia jolted, "And when did you get up there?!"

"Same time you got lost in thought."

"Uuuuu..."

"Anyhow," Tatenashi slid down the trunk to meet Cecilia, "Isn't it about time you let go of this massive grudge? Last time someone held onto their unrequited love, it almost cost us DisneySea."

Cecilia thought back to when she first heard the news about his choice, and how Laura easily convinced everyone to team up to make him pay. Pay meaning rage out a second time.

"Right..." and she just now remembered.

"Not to mention," Tatenashi touched foreheads with Cecilia, "you're already developing unnecessary wrinkles in your brow." PUNCH-BLOCK! "Come now. You should know better."

"You started it!" Cecilia blushed.

"I know!" Uh...Tatenashi? "And you'll thank me for it!" She pointed behind Cecilia, and a few more girls that saw her gauntlets were mesmerized.

"Are you Cecilia Alcott?" One of them asked.

"Uh, well I-" she turned back but Tatenashi was gone. She was left to deal with the craze of being the only Representative Candidate to willingly visit Canada. She showed off her composure, "Yes I am."

"Aaaaaaaa!" They all jumped for joy. "We got so many questions to ask you! You have to come with us!"

And she was dragged into the offbeat pace. She went exploring the Ontario cityscape, stopping once in a while for autographs from people who recognize her as both a Representative Contender and a pilot who fought the renegade. At first, Cecilia had to watch it while she abused her celebrity status to enormous degrees. She couldn't help but lavish in their love, but when she thought they would suspect something out of the ordinary, she had to either tone down her selfishness, or pay for an entire load herself. Thankfully, she was able to adjust to her humble arrogance. She gave them quite a show, since her strict upbringing required knowledge of makeup, accessories, clothing, etc., as well as the occasional IS demonstration. She made quite the fan base when she said she was besties with Ichika.

 **-UPPER CANADA MALL FOODCOURT-**

Even more so when describing her first encounter with the renegade.

"Uggggggggggh...why did you have to bring that up?..."

"Come on! We wanna know!" A fan girl begged.

"It wasn't a romantic experience, I can tell you that much!" Cecilia crossed her arms and wore her grumpy face, "It was downright asinine molestation, and he knew it!" She got mad again, "He is the very reason that my lips and my heart are forever soiled!"

"Whoa, TMI," someone said.

"Quite bold of him, if you ask me," another girl said.

"You mean you're fine with him doing that to you?!" Oh god here it comes!

"Yeah, I mean if only to feel the strength and the raw power seeping into my body." CRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGE!

"You have got to be kidding me..." Nope. She is not. Not when three other girls hyped her up as a daring young stagette. "Is this real life?" she asked the mother who was chaperoning them, "Like, is this really happening in front of me?"

"Well, can you blame them?" the mother said, "Canada hasn't had a pilot since the Second Generation ISs were released."

"Seriously?" Cecilia was surprised, "This is news to me. I thought they were hiding them somewhere else, in another facility..."

"Nope...no one has been able to move an IS at all. That's why they're overly curious about the outside world..." the mother said as she looked on to her daughter and friends gawking over the footage of the renegade in action, "But boy do I wish we had one..."

"It's not the end of the world," Cecilia blurted, "They do have IS they can at least show off, don't they?"

"Yes, but it's only for RD purposes."

"Oh, that's ridiculous!" Cecilia piped, "I can requisition a test unit right here for them to try out!"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," and ego woman, "Canadaand England are on good terms after the attack on the Third Mondo Grosso. It'll be no problem to bring a unit for showcasing."

"Oh would you?" The mother was grateful, "Thank you, Miss Alcott! I'll go tell the-"

"Ahhhhh, I have a slight problem with getting the word out," Cecilia hushed, "You know, publicity and broken promises and all that."

"Tell my daughter that," the mother pointed directly behind Cecilia, who absolutely lost her shit at the random ARE YOU REALLY BRINGING AN IS OVER?! shouting match between the teenagers.

"WILL YOU STOP WITH THE JUMPSCARES?!" She screamed.

"Sorry!" They said in unison, which freaked her out even more.

"For crying out-ok," Cecilia managed to calm down, "I'll bring an IS over for showcasing. The European Alliance should have something by this time next week. Then, we can really find out whether or not Canada has some competent pilots. No, don't scream don't scream-"

Too late. She was so loud, the whole foodcourt heard her. And it was so loud, the entire goddamn mall could hear it.

"Oh, what have I done..." she sighed.

"You don't look so good," the mother gave her a handkerchief.

"I swear, my big premature mouth will be the death of me..." she wiped her brow.

"It's ok," the mother said, "I think we all need a little more bombastic surprise feeling, eh?"

"I suppose so..." she looked around at the excitement she caused in the mall as she struggled to get everyone out. The recognition she received for saving the world was absolute peanuts compared to this. Not once had she ever encountered something like this. All her public appearances with her mother were for business or a show of force. All her public appearances with her friends were for heroics and showboating.

But this was hope. She was giving hope to a people who had been set aside since the introduction of the Second Generation of ISs. They have never been able to generate so much as a murmur from any unit.

This wasn't just a big plate for her. Given her current status, it was a mall with nothing but buffets. Dear god.

She was completely drained by the time they all made it out. She spread herself out under the parking lot lights.

"Are you ok?" One of the girls giggled.

"No..." Cecilia wheezed, "My buns are roasted..."

"I can help you with that!" A girl actually tried massaging her buns-

"Eep! Nope!" Cecilia sprouted herself on her feet, "I am perfectly fine! I have stamina to go for worse than this! This is nothing!"

More giggles, This time, she laughed with them because of how winded she was before she was groped into an energy shot. And the funny thing is, she was never so glad to be so embarrassed by friends she made day one.

"Gotta admit," she said, "this was a fun day for me."

"Same here! So, where are you staying at?"

"Dunno. I'll probably look for a hotel and bunk there until I can...SOMEHOW... get an IS across the pond..." she just now envisioned the stress of the transport.

"Ok," one of the girls was a bit disappointed, "Are you sure you don't want to stay with us?"

"She can't," the mother said, "She has a lot of work to do now that she was shoehorned into this little plot of yours."

"Yeah, a lot of planning, a lot of protection," Cecilia tried to rack through her mind of how to even start.

"Ok, everyone!" The mother said, "Time to go!"

The group shouted their goodbyes to her and threw one last song as they left. She kept smiling and waving until they were out of sight.

"Fucking bullocks.." she slumped down and unconsciously deployed her IS to float her to whatever hotel was in the vicinity, either due to arrogance and showboating, or just plain exhaustion.

A sudden connection link burst through her private comms shield, and Tatenashi's voice pierced her slipping mind, "AWAKE POPPINS!"

"Yeet!" She freaked out, "I TOLD YOU NO MORE JUMPSCARES!"

"Hehehe," yes. Tatenashi meant to do that, "You ok?"

"I guess..." Cecilia was irritated, "just so tired..."

"Good. Come to the Novotel in Newmarket, southwest of you."

"What?! But there's an inn over there! And it looks so cozy!"

"If you got the energy to lug an IS all the way over here, you got the energy to lug your lazy ass to there. I'll be waiting!" Connection terminated.

"How?!" Cecilia's stomach churned. Tatenashi now knows that she promised to find a worthy Canadian pilot to end the drought. But if she knows, then who else has been listening in on that litter number at the mall in front of a hundred people-GODDAMMIT, WOMAN! "Me and my big mouth..." Exactly.

Not because of Tatenashi, but because of two inconspicuous men in a black car.

"That's her, alright..."

"Yep. Let's move."

 **-NOVOTEL NORTH AMERICA; NEWMARKET, ONTARIO; TWO HOURS LATER-**

Tatenashi was sipping tea by the balcony while Cecilia wasted half an hour in the hot bath. When Cecilia finally found the will and clarity of mind to escape the escape and confront Tatenashi, she wasn't in a good mood.

"Ok, what's up?

"Well, I've been thinking..." with just a sip of the teacup.

"Stop playing around," Cecilia plopped down on the chair and sprung her legs on the rail, "I know you long enough to know that you don't pop in on my business without some ulterior motive."

"You know, you've been without makeup since you got here," Tatenashi flipped her fan open and revealed the kanji for "truth", "Is it because someone ordered you against your will?"

"Wha-uh...where did you get that idea?!" Cecilia stammered, "I'm here of my own volition-"

"Volition given to you by someone very high in power, I assume?" Tatenashi teased her.

"No! I'm here because I wanted to get away from the chaos of my homeland!"

"You could've easily chosen Paris," Tatenashi egged on Cecilia's apparent weakpoint, and enjoyed every last drop of imaginary sweat dripping from her eyebrows, "Or Dubai. Or even Rio de Janeiro. But why Ontario?"

"Wha-Uh..." Cecilia gave up, "Ok, yes. I am here under orders..."

"From the Queen," Tatenashi confidently said, eyes closed-showing off, basically, "and you're here for the renegade's head."

"Yes..." Cecilia admitted defeat.

"Hmmhmmhmmhmmhmm..." Nothing gets past Tatenashi, "Just as I figured. I wondered why the U.K. was so angsty since Phantom Task's eruption heist."

"Your powers of perception are as frightening as ever," Cecilia winced.

"Yeah, but that's not why I called you here," Tatenashi's fan now showed the kanji for "friend." Uh oh, "I can help you get an IS over here."

"You can?"

"Yep. Just convince the Queen that it'll lure the renegade straight over here," Tatenashi brought up a series of holographic screens, depicting a direct transport of an IS via Royal Air Force, "This is quite literally the only method, given the conditions you set. Only problem is that it is commanded by..." A tall man, in a red and brown general's uniform...locking arms with Chelsea, "...her father."

Cecilia slammed her cup to the ground, "Oh, hell no! Hell no! I'm not going anywhere NEAR that bitch!"

"You have to..." Tatenashi muttered with a goofy sleepy face.

"But I don't..." In trying to clarify her muddled thoughts into coherent words, Cecilia unconsciously let these words slip by, "...want... to..."

"It's either this," Tatenashi pulled up a screen of the March to Parliament, which got a ton of attention from EU media, "or face hell on Earth."

Cecilia clammed up. Staring down the prospects of either unnecessary pariah cacophony or a kingdom of wigs and politically hypersensitive nut jobs. She was about to choose the nut jobs when she reached into her pocket. She still has the charm bracelet Chelsea made for her. It is a literal wonder why she still has it. Maybe because her pride was molded by her maid and friendshi-

"I cannot believe I am making the call!" Cecilia stomped her way to the hotel room phone, scrambling for permission to make an international call.

"Are you truly making the call?" Tatenashi teased.

"No! I'm working my way up!" Cecilia snapped, hoping to run into a problem that will delay the process.

Tatenashi giggled behind her fan, which now bore the kanji for healing. She was going to have so much fun teaching Cecilia the ways of humility and not being an ass. She looked to the sky, as the sun began its slow descent into the night. She was always three moves ahead when it came to this sort of teaching. It felt like the days when she was assigned to observe and protect Ichika. Only here, the renegade will play second fiddle to the very real threat hidden in the shadows.

And while she looked back at the bumbling Duchess wrecking her nerves over a simple phone call...

"Oh...What are we but tiny boulders in the grand design..." she texted to Chelsea and Kanzashi.


	3. Rediscovering a Sudden Wind

_Part 3: Rediscovering A Sudden Wind_

 **FINLAY FORKS, BRITISH COLUMBIA-**

"Hahhh...hahh...hahh...hah...AREN'T Y'ALL GOING TO DO ANYTHING?!" Sokoto panted before collapsing behind the truck.

"Ohhohohoh, no," Autumn said while stretching her legs out on the dashboard, "You got us into this mess. You're gonna get us out."

"WHAT KIND OF CHEAP SHOT IS THAT, WOMAN?!" Sokoto snapped, "YOU GET OUT HERE AND LIFT US OUT OF HERE!"

"Mayhaps you prefer a dip in the Pacific?" Autumn grinned.

And then like a mummy, Madoka arose from the truck's bed, "I'm gonna go get that stick out of his ass."

"Can you plug his mouth too?"

"I'll try..." Madoka hopped out of the bed to ice Sokoto's pants and shock his system back to full throttle.

"WOOOOOOHOHOOHOHOOHHOHOHO, that's cold..." he shivered and turned back to Madoka, "Can you be any less subtle?..."

"Why, yes," Madoka help up a stick, "Yes I can."

"Uuuuu..."

"Come on," Madoka pushed against the truck, "The sooner we get to a pit stop, the better."

Sokoto lugged his shoulder and pushed along the road with her, "Rrgh...why couldn't you fly us over again?..."

"The UN? The truck pooping out engine parts? The fact that we're heroes in Canada, even though they should be hating us?" Autumn said, "Anything we do gets us attention."

"Trust me," Madoka said, "This is best way...Now, shut up and push..."

Sokoto had no choice but to comply. "Lamest...excuse...ever..." After all, he made the truck fly off the freeway and do a corkscrew 720 into a pile of snow back in Stone Mountain. Granted, it was the only way to avoid Autumn destroying the truck, but the IS skirmish saw a misfire of one of Madoka's lasers, blasting off a huge chunk of the provincial park. So, while Sokoto and Madoka pushed the damn truck along the highway, Autumn had to fix a beaten old truck. And not five minutes into the repair job did she find out that one of Madoka's bits shattered the crankshaft.

Meaning they hated Canada now.

 **-FORT NELSON-**

When they finally made it to a major village, Madoka and Sokoto blew off all their strength. Autumn had to deploy her arms to dunk them in the bed and move the truck further in. She pushed it all the way to a car station along the main highway.

"Finally..." Autumn took a moment to catch her breath, "Oh, what a pain the the-" She stopped short of what she saw in the trunk. Somehow, Madoka and Sokoto were tenderly sleeping on top of each other, his head snuggled in her neck. "Well, I'll be," she said as she walked closer to peer into their serene expressions. And rearranged their limbs and chests into a far more tender pose.

One hour later, when the stars began to dance in the sky... and unfortunately, so did the internet...

Autumn managed to obtain a room at the Woodlands Inn. Why Woodlands? Because of the sheer sound of squealing bystanders who saw what a work of art she had concocted earlier. She pretended not to know and shushed everyone into hiding near the truck. Then, she looked over the bed. They were still sleeping despite the unusual aura density that should've woken him up, setting off the desired chain of events. So, she walked to the wheel and ignited the engine.

And then, everyone got their fill of fandom, no matter how short lived it was. Madoka and Sokoto were suddenly woken up by the truck shaking, and their hands dug deep into each other's clothes.

"Ugh-uhh..." they both grunted and made direct sleepy eye contact with each other.

"You two sleep ok?" Autumn asked. The instant they turned their eyes to Autumn, Sokoto's aura meter was blown out. Fort Nelson had gotten major word of Phantom Task visiting, and here they were giving the girls the ultimate in hero fan service.

Sokoto's sudden aura overload jolted him. He knocked his head into Madoka's.

"Ow! Dude!" And cue the copycat, "No! What're you doing? Stop copying me! Stop it! Shut up! MEGADETH COMING TO SCHOOL WITH HER GOTHIC WAS FORCED INTO A SMALL GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO HAD SUBSIDED THE MOTHER OF MOTHERHOOD-"

"Uh, guys?" Autumn desperately wanted to burst into laughter, "Your hands?" The better question would be, why hasn't Madoka started killing them yet?

Well, at least they got two connected regular rooms for free.

"Why'd you rip off the door?" Madoka asked through the multiple cushions stuffing her face, "He could sleepwalk his way into your footprints..."

"Insurance..." Autumn simply said.

"For what?"

"For when you have special needs that must be fulfilled within one minute," Autumn grinned.

Madoka reverted back to an angry banshee and tried to chase Autumn down.

"Now, you start killing?!" Autumn burst out laughing.

"Hey, what's going on!" Sokoto stopped midway through his shower, "I got a rash thanks to you! The hell?!" The instant he saw the ensuing goose chase, he leapt into the fray and accidentally slammed his face into Autumn's-for sake's crap, man.

"Uh...kid?" Autumn blushed, "Where are you-"

"EUCH!" Sokoto retorted, "Lady, you reek! What have you been doing?!" Right before catching Autumn's sudden knife swing with one hand, thereby locking them in a power struggle.

"Fixing that damn truck, thank you," and Autumn somehow reverted back to her old, psychopathic self.

"You need better fixings, don'tcha know?" He smirked. That remark sparked Madoka's murderous side. He pulled Autumn aside and used a book to block her katana.

"You're the most broken person in the whole fucking world, dipshit," Madoka growled and threw the book away. And she and Autumn tried to kill him, but he was too agile for them to even touch him.

"Glad to see everyone's back to normal, eh!" he shouted mid-slaughter. He wasted their energy for ten minutes before running them exhausted. Then, he ripped their clothes off and stuffed them in the shower, "You two need to cool off! I'll be out and about, while you go off somewhere else, and don't follow me!" Then, he slammed the doors, got dressed, and made like the leaves in the wind and got out as fast as possible.

Around town, he found a multitude of things to do, given his celebrity status and why would the UN come here again? He explored the town, giving and receiving insight on how its people came to appreciate the renegade and how Canada came to be relegated as a secondary country in the face of the IS. He learned that they are a people of openness, humility, and respect. Something the Japanese simply cannot support. So, get this, they believe that, either whoever was designing the cores found a convoluted way to deliberately make it so Canada couldn't use the advanced ISs, or there are pilots, but someone has been kidnapping them. Or, the most popular belief, they simply aren't worthy of being a pilot. That got him even more interested in exploring the town to find out what their deal is. To that end, he tagged along with a group of community members who showed him around, even got to know him better with his jokes and quips. They wondered how someone so sociable became arguably the most infamous thing to ever hit the IS world. And now, here he was, walking down the streets with a gift bag in each hand.

"And that's how I wound up leading two unsuspecting souls down the path of redemption," Sokoto said like so painfully proud.

"No way!" A girl said, "They saved people? Get out!"

"No, it's true!" Sokoto boasted, "I just drilled into their minds the endless wisdom of my brains, And then, they became the perfect warriors. Trust me, they needed it, otherwise, they'd self destruct in an instant."

"Would they, though?" A man asked, "They don't seem to friendly, from what you're saying."

"They aren't," Sokoto responded, "but thankfully I was able to get to them before any else did."

"He did it with both of them," someone whispered to her friend with a snarky grin.

"The hell did that come from?!" Her friend shouted.

"Y'all say something?" He asked, sensing embarrassment and deviousness.

"Nothing," they both looked away.

"Okie, then," he walked high with his arms behind his head. The auras that led the tour of the town stopped for some reason. He turned behind him, "Something catch your tongue?"

"Someone..." the man pointed to a small cabin on the outskirts of the city.

"What about it?" Sokoto asked.

"There's this old man that's been real creepy and stalky around town lately," one of the girls said.

"Well, why don't you just make him leave?"

"We'd like to," the man said, "but he's a little cranky when it comes to other people besides him."

Sokoto looked at the cabin. It was old, wood and metal nearly collapsed. It hadn't seen repair for maybe a decade. He could feel a faint aura, a mixture of regret, sadness, and anxiety.

"Well, if you're not gonna chase him outta town, I will," he didn't buy their words for a millisecond.

"You're going to do what?!" The girls shouted in disbelief.

"You even know what you're up against?!" A woman demanded.

"Sure do," Sokoto turned back, "and he's way less intimidating than escaping twenty ISs via mountain waterways. M and Autumn are in room 317. Ciao!" And he ran towards the cabin. The others only stood there, mouths agape.

"He's done for..." a girl whispered.

"I'm going back to work," the man left them.

"Come on!" Another girl, "we gotta make sure he's safe!" And half the group split, to warn Madoka and Autumn, and to really make the man leave.

Sokoto stood at the door and surveyed the cabin's yard. It was all barren, with only the snow and a chopped tree stump to keep company. A deflated tire leaned against the outer wall, with a window and a rope attached. The aura got stronger. "Yeesh, this guy's been around alright..." he cringed. He took a deep breath before slowly pushing the door open.

The cabin looked nice. It was very well-maintained, floor cleaned, fireplace faintly glowing. "So...what exactly is the problem here?" he muttered, "You see anything, Silvia?" And then he sensed anger. He heard a shotgun click. He got into his fighting stance, which unconsciously activated the wrist shield he forgot he still had. He blocked two gunshots and heard the reload. And he saw the most intimidating figure he ever laid eyes upon. Well over twice his height, three times the muscle, very very angry.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" the cabin rattled.

"Uh..." Sokoto stammered, "Just wanted...to talk?..."

"I don't need your goddamn apathy or empathy, boy!" The man readied his shotgun with more explosive bullets, "Get out!"

The man fired a shot. Sokoto blocked, but the explosion made him recoil against the wall. He shattered a lamp upon grounding, but recovered in time to dodge a bullet. He ran to a wall and kicked it with both feet to propel him towards YOU IDIOT!

"Get the fuck out!" The man slammed the butt of his shotgun onto the shield, easily shattering it and throwing Sokoto off center and into his knee. He kicked the renegade back against the fireplace.

"UGH!" Sokoto's collision made the firewood ignite the blaze further. "Ugh...Y'know, I think we made him mad..."

"Yep," the man growled as he loaded his gun, "I guess breaking and entering someone's house without their knowledge would do that." He fired, but Sokoto ducked his head in time to dodge. The bullet struck the edge of the fireplace and the wall, flinging sparks into the fire and lightning it brighter, just long enough for the giant to catch a real glimpse of Sokoto.

But he didn't see Sokoto. He saw Squall. It was a similar situation, when he abused her but stopped short of killing her, due to the fact that she was perfectly fine with it. He didn't know how to react then, just like he didn't know how to react now.

"Squall..." he dropped the gun, "No...it can't be..."

"Ngh...who can't what?..." Sokoto grunted.

"You...you were..." the man took another look at him and made out his silhouette. The faint light let him get a good look at his face. "Oh...you're that renegade fella...the one with Squall back in the mountains..."

"Uh...yeah, yeah I was..." Sokoto steadied himself upright.

"Then..." the man got really frantic. He rushed to Sokoto and grabbed his shoulders, "You have to tell me! What happened to her?! Where is she?! I need to know!"

"Clam...yoru...sitt...aignt...bmhthoee..." Sokoto spewed the words from his mouth while being shaken the daylights out of him.

Fifteen minutes later, they both calmed their spirits and sat in front of the fireplace.

"I still don't get how you're father," Sokoto blurted out, "I mean, look at you! You look like you can create your own climate!"

"Thanks for that, you ungrateful prick," the man said, "It's not every day you lose a precious loved one."

"I know. That's why I try to hold on to every bond I can," Sokoto purposefully put the wrong idea in the father's head.

"You wanna feel the pain of getting your heart yanked out, boy?" And it worked. The father got mad, "I can deliver the goods ten times over."

"Try it, meat head," Sokoto countered, "I got two more bloodthirsty pilots standing outside, waiting to chow down on your insides."

"They wouldn't be here if you hadn't let her die like that!" The father shouted.

"Right back at ya!" Sokoto flipped, "Had you kept her in your arms instead of let dear old mammy take her away!"

"Take that back, you little shit," the father aimed his shotgun at Sokoto's head.

"Make me, deadbeat," Sokoto put the shield at the father's neck.

At the first sign of defiance, the father knew what this standoff meant. If he fired the shot, the recoil would force the shield into his throat, and he'd have hell on his ass if the renegade ever disappears. But more than that, he lost his confidence the instant he saw Sokoto rise up against him. The same fashion as Squall rose up when she yelled at her mother to not separate them.

He let his guard down and slumped into the couch, "What's it matter anyway? She's gone. My only problem is gone. So I suggest you get gone, too."

Sokoto thought about doing just that. He mounted his headphones and proceeded to leave the cabin. But then, he saw a picture by the window and door. It harkened back to happier days when Squall and her father were together. He pulled out a crumpled picture from his pocket. It was a perfect recreation of the original. Just switch roles. The real parent was Squall, and he was...

"How did you get that?..." the father stared at both pictures, bewildered at the fact that she even took a picture with anyone, let alone cuddle her arms around someone.

"Oh, this?" Sokoto said, "She told me about her mother and how she killed her. Said she had issues, so I offered her a role playing game. I would pretend to be her son, and she would be the mother she wanted her mother to actually be." He gave him the pictures to compare them. "It's funny, actually. She kept raving about how you always fondled her when it was you two alone, but every time mom came home, you stopped. And she didn't want you to stop, always asking why you couldn't keep going."

"She said that?" The father was shocked. Squall never said anything to him, except the occasional why, partly due to the fact that he was pressured by his wife to raise Squall the way she wanted, but absolutely lost it at the berating, "That was...I never..."

"What?" Sokoto contacted eyes, "What did you forget to do?"

"*SIGH*...kid, we gotta talk," he sat down on the couch. Sokoto sat beside him. And he unloaded a massive backstory dump.

Squall was born in Montreal, Québec. She was the youngest in the family of four. Her older sister was the ideal for the family, dutiful, intelligent, resourceful, and never backing down from anything. Her mother was American-born, meaning standards were high for females. Males, not so much, so Squall's father tended to housework and house care. She rather enjoyed her father's laid back attitude compared to her mother's strict interpretation of life, which her dear mommy hated about her. She was subjected to extreme abuse should she ever try to spend quality time with him, which she tried to do endlessly. The only time when she didn't have to endure training was during the weekdays, when her mother always came home late. She would ask her father why she was forced to learn everything, to which he could not provide an answer. He just told her to keep enduring, and one day she will live a luxury life on her terms. He always comforted her by hugging. Some days, she felt really down and didn't get off his lap. He found that the only way to get her off...was to get her off. Which led to a forbidden relationship between them. At least it made the pain easier to endure. She got into a better mood, able to take more of her mother's strict training. As long as she has her father, she could take it, but that was just it. Her mother knew what went down, so she arranged for Squall to study at America once the first generation of IS units was released. Squall objected to the move, but her mother slapped her hard. She was devastated. She instinctively went to her father for comfort when he was alone, unaware that her mother had taken the day off. She was caught and beaten. Her father was forced to sign the divorce papers to surrender all custody of children and property to her mother, lest he face charges for voyeurism, child abuse, and domestic violence. The day they parted was painful. She begged her father not to leave her. Guess what? Her mother punched her and called the cops on him, finally putting the nail in the coffin for their relationship.

And the father has hidden himself here ever since. That was all he knew. To the father's surprise, Sokoto finished the story using the tiny bits of background Squall gave him throughout their adventures.

Squall was forced to study in America, to isolate her from every possible distraction. She learned everything there was to know about the IS, the world, and the leadership role in the IS world. Until the fated Academy entrance exams. Before her trial, she had to time her movements to bait the instructor into firing a missile behind her, to the audience. She used the skills she learned to create a device that would bring the shield down long enough to let the missile phase through, but short enough for it to be considered a defect. The trial began. She maneuvered around her opponent so much that it got her angry. She fired on Squall, who deflected it to where her mother was. The force of the deflection made her trip and fall on her back, triggering the plug out device. The shield went down, then right back up. But the missile and the resulting explosion left 100 people trapped under the bloody debris. Among the casualties, her mother and sister. Finally, one horrible memory has been relieved. But so was the pain and agony, replaced with apathy and vengefulness. The perfect killer was within grasp, and it was a Phantom Task agent who grasped her first. The agent made a proposal. Squall would join the army as a cadet. If she left a corporal, she was guaranteed a spot on Phantom Task, where she could carry out her vengeance on everyone who played a part in tearing her life apart. Her physical and mental abilities, combined with her ruthless and manipulation tactics, propelled her to Captain in just four years. A feared warrior, indeed, but not without fault. When she learned that someone related to her mother was in development of the Egyptian IS Golden Dawn, she requested to be sent on the escort mission. There in Cairo, Phantom Task attacked. She wasted no time in taking the Dawn for herself and defecting from the Army to slaughter the research team herself. Unfortunately, one of her superiors found out and shot off her left arm and right eye, but the Phantom agents saved her before she died. At the headquarters, Squall gained not only a new arm and eye, but also a new purpose as a leader of the world's largest terrorist organization, installing fear into a naive people with the very tools that can create and destroy at the same time. She was the one who recruited Madoka and Autumn. She was the one who ordered the assault on the Second Mondo Grosso. And ultimately, she was the one who tried and failed to eliminate the IS Representative Contenders, returned to dust by those very pilots.

"She did all that..." the father was speechless, "Just from us being separated..."

"Yeah..." Sokoto kept his eyes on the floor, "And that's all she had to say about it..."

"Why'd she tell you?"

"Got me. All I did was try not to be a stick in the mud. She was always doing something, and I didn't wanna be a deadweight to her."

"Deadweight..." the father reacted, "And how does dragging ass all over the damn place translate to deadweight?..."

"I don't know..." Sokoto admitted, "she just...we crossed eyes. I could see a ton of regret in hers. She wanted to say something to someone, to undo some moments in her life. I just wanted to ease the pain, give her something to redeem. I mean, she really wanted to get with you again. I can't help but think she pulled all that shit out of spite."

Spite? Out of all the crimes she committed, they were spite? Then...

Two different revelations dawned on them. For the father, it meant that Squall still held on to those memories of him. Even as she discovered what her father truly did to her, it was out of love. She genuinely loved him, maybe even more than he loved her. And the renegade. Somehow, just like he saw Squall inside of him, Squall saw her father. He saw what he was trying to do, to help her regain her sanity with every word passing through.

For Sokoto, it meant he knew what he had to do now. The many over-the-line conversations with Squall, his constant nagging of Autumn and Madoka, this moment with Hulk Squall. He knew then how to redeem them. And it will be the same fashion with Phantom Task. And it won't be over until he goes to London; if that's the case, he has to delay his trip for as long as ever.

"Ohhhhhh..." Sokoto rubbed his eyes, "that was too much cheese and brainy hearts for one day..."

"Uh...kid?" The father asked after a long period of silence.

"Yep?" Sokoto sensed a major warming of the father's aura.

"You mind hearing out a decrepit old man's last wish?..."

Sokoto didn't need to. He instantly figured out what his wish was. "Let me get my hair down first..." He started to make his hair like Squall's but the father stopped him by patting his head. Then he got close enough to hug him. Sokoto embraced him back.

"No, Squall..." the father said, "You're beautiful just the way you are..."

 **-NEXT DAY-**

Several women and girls were helping Madoka and Autumn pack. Rather slowly. They all found the location of the renegade. And since then, no one in town has been able to remove the pink from their cheeks. Already, speculation that the renegade is bisexual spread like a blizzard in British Columbia. What's worse...

"They looked so hot..."

"Was he always like this?..."

"They really got into it..."

"I wanted in on that..."

Why are fantasies?

"Ok, that's the last of it..." Madoka said, "Thanks for giving us a stay here."

"Yeah...we appreciate it...really..." Autumn said, "Alright, gang. Time to...time off..."

"Yahoo!" Sokoto ran out with the last of the luggage and hopped on the bed of the truck, "Where we going to next?!"

"Dunno," Autumn said, "We'll just follow the road until it takes us somewhere interesting."

"Um...renegade?" one of the girls mustered the courage to ask.

"Yo?"

"Um...if you're ever...in the area...maybe you could...show us...how you...y'know...with that man..."

Sokoto looked confused. Why's everyone's auras so pink? That's unusual, even for Madoka and Autumn. "Well, sure, I can give you a demonstration."

"Really?! You'll show us?!" Excitement, but not the kind you'd-

"OK, SHUT UP!" Madoka boomed, "Can we just go now?!"

And with that, the truck departed for parts unknown. The girls waved goodbye, some motioning the "CALL ME!" hand signs. Sokoto waved back. The girls squealed with glee. As the truck passed through town, he saw Squall's father saluting him. He returned with a patriot-like salute. And they shared a smile, something the father hasn't had in a long time. Sokoto stretched his arms and leaned back against the luggage, confident that he can now move forward with Phantom Task. Because he did the grown up thing with a grown up. Letting go is hard. But maybe they never had to let go. They just had to accept it. Squall's gone, but they aren't. They'll remember, and they'll use it to better themselves.

Sokoto: "Uh, you two have been pink since morning. You see anything?"

Madoka and Autumn: "Nothing! Nothing at all!"

Sokoto: "Eh, whatevs. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ"

Autumn: "M..."

Madoka: "What?..."

Autumn: "I wet myself again..."

Madoka: "Me too..."

...mostly...better themselves...


	4. Old Frenemies

_Part 4: Old Frenemies_

 **-MOUNT ROYAL PARK, QUÉBEC PROVINCE-**

"Absolutely not!" Cecilia screamed over the phone, "I will not be indebted to an indentured servant, much less a former woman dust cleaner!"

"Good to hear you're doing quite well for yourself," Chelsea sarcastically commented.

"Why's it so hard for you to do this one simple thing that even a grunt can do faster?!"

"Because we go way back, past preschool even, and that's the hardest pill to swallow. Had you been a complete stranger, I would've easily requisitioned the committee to send a unit over, but you're not a stranger. So, I won't."

"How dare you! Shall I fly back home and demand the IS in your father's face?"

"I already warned him. You are a no go, and you will stay that way. Goodbye, Mastard."

"Don't you turn your back to me-"

She hung up.

Yes. They've kept that up for four hour bursts. Tatenashi coaxed her into calling Chelsea to fulfill her brash promise, the first genuine promise made without anyone's consent. Without anyone's consent. That made everything worse. And now, with Tatenashi on an errand, she found herself alone again, left to vent her frustrations on an innocent oak tree.

"Can't I get one thing done?!" She screamed, scaring some admirers away. She broke the tree in half before slumping her face to the ground, "Oh...why'd I let myself get carried away by these heathens..." She got so carried away, she didn't notice the ant queen on top of her neck, alerting her troops to the invasion.

 **-NEXT MORNING, RITZ-CARLTON MONTREAL-**

A maid walked to the door of a luxury suite and knocked, "Hello? Room service."

The door opened, and something of a pale apparition emerged from the door sideways. The maid shrieked, alerting the entire top floor of a ghastly presence.

"You...may leave it..." the apparition voiced with a deathly rattle. The maid fled in terror. Once she was gone, the apparition-I mean, Cecilia wiped her eyes and mouth, and grabbed the hidden camera outside her door. "And one for the duffer." She locked the door shut and stretched her way to the living area, "HOOOOOOO, baby! What am I going to say today?" She grabbed a remote and activated the MP3 stereo. The pulsating intro of Lights echoed its way throughout the suite. "My favorite song too, huh? Not a bad start to a rough day..." Once the verse began, she danced her way around the kitchen, flipping a coffee cup behind her back, rear ending the coffee machine to espresso, and cleaning up not only the makeup cupboard, but also her own body, brushing up her hair to sleek bed head levels, and unwrapping her robe to reveal a tank top and mini jeans combo. Clearly, she's gone off the deep end. She twirled around for a bit, showing off her ballet skills while setting up the room for a nice lounge, until-

"'Cause they're calling, calling, calling me home, calling, calling, calling, ho-" *CLICK!*

She shut it off. She liked that bit...when she actually was home. Now, not a chance. She tried another song.

"He'll never love you like I can, can, ca-"

Nope, not that one. Next!

"If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends (gotta get with-)-"

Oh, hell no! Anything else?!

"So, make the best of this test, and don't ask why-"

Cecilia took her phone off the Bluetooth. These songs, and by extension her playlist, were not helping her get her mind off the double whammy. She gave up and sat down to eat with the morning headlines.

"This morning, we're learning that the Empress and Prime Minister of Japan were planning to ramp up their gender rules, to the level of apartheid currently seen in Eastern Africa and Australia. The rules were jointly developed and ingrained by the United States President and the Prime Minister, but they clearly believe they're not being held by the highest standards-"

"Oh, why do I even bother?" She said as she was munching on a Belgian waffle, when she heard a knock on her door. She went out and opened, "Can I help you two?"

"Uh, yeah," one of the two delivery men blushed, "We came to give you a package from Nottingham."

"Huh...I didn't order anything but...fine," she took the package and the clipboard.

The delivery men were actually on a mission to kidnap Cecilia, but damn it all if they weren't distracted by her slender, well-endowed body.

"May I ask who originally sent this?" Cecilia asked as she smelled something that smells like her own cooking coming from the package.

One of the men pretended to check his phone, "It was from one Chelsea Blackett-"

She threw the package at his face and slammed the door locked, "TELL THAT SLAG TO GIVE IT TO ME IN PERSON!"

They gave up on their pursuit. An angry woman does not make an easy target. All they could do was leave and alert their superiors to her current location.

She walked back in and slammed her head on the cushions. She noticed that they were suspicious alright, but she would gladly let herself get kidnapped if it meant she didn't have to deal with Chelsea. The only problem was that there was a chance that the renegade could happen upon her and-control thyself, woman-TOO LATE!

Her fantasies fully developed when she saw the tabloid news. The renegade had a...moment with a loner in Fort Nelson. And a picture taken by one of Phantom Task showed them de-clothing-

"OK, ANYTHING ELSE?!" She quickly changed the channel to a more haunting story. Ever since the renegade's rampage on Mt. Fuji, the region has been haunted by a metallic girlish voice: "Onii-chan...onee-chan...keep fighting..." But there was nothing to prove it was a voice recording. Fuji-san had been...awakened, some say.

"Y'know what?" Cecilia propped up, "I think I need to lay off the carbs for today." She grabbed her purse and escaped the hotel.

So, how is a member of one of most popular families to spend her time away from home? Doing anything and everything in the name of fun, and spreading the word about the "ultimate test of Maple!" She even dragged some poor random bystanders into her antics, blatantly letting them know what she's on about. Which only served to heighten the anticipation, driving Québec wild. But she had an ulterior motive: guilt.

For all the rants she gave Chelsea, the promise she mindlessly gave a couple days ago reminded her of a promise easily broken by unrequited love. She promised to remain friends with her companions after graduation, but she couldn't stand the idea of Ichika not marrying her, much like everyone else in her clique. So, she and Laura hatched the idea to separate the couple. And when that didn't work out, they resorted to sheer violence, not much different from the end of year one, except Lingyin got too ino her jealousy and assaulted Houki. A minor flesh wound. When she and Laura were about to deal the final blow, Ichika slammed his feet into their heads and shattered their shields with his IB stomp. And it escalated quickly.

The same thing happened with her and Chelsea, for the exact same reason, except instead of one measly theme park, it was an entire prefecture. Thank goodness they covered it up as a hunt for the renegade accomplice, but the top officials knew the truth. As if she didn't strain relations already, she caused the UK to separate from the worldwide program. At least with this stunt, she could have a solid first step in repairing her relationship with her own people. But that won't fix the issues with Chelsea, or Rachel for that matter.

 **-MOUNT ROYAL PARK-**

After her fun-filled day, she retired to the park, where she spread out her body on the grass. She still had her phone music going to distract herself from the crowding insanity of the daily gossip, but she noticed something about her surroundings. There's a more prominent male presence here, still less than the female presence, but more than what she saw in London and Tokyo. And what's more, hands in hands, shoulder to shoulder, actually having a good time. Nothing like what her mother showed in England.

Boy, was it painful. She missed the off-the-wall interactions with her friends, the crazy antics they got into with Ichika, and especially the bittersweet moments of the graduation party. What she wouldn't give to go back in time to stop herself from turning to her yandere...

"Is something wrong, miss?"

Yeah, there's one thing she'll never give anyone: her dignity. Especially not to the numbskulls who thought they could get away with posing as delivery people.

"Uh...yeah," she said, "Haven't I seen you two before?"

"No, not to my knowledge," one of the men said.

"No. No, no, no, no," she rolled over, "I recognize you yahoos. You tried to give me that hag's package."

The men didn't even bother trying to hide their intentions and whipped out their guns. She deployed her drones and leaped onto one of them to flip overhead. The drones shot and exploded the guns. She landed behind them in a crouching tiger stance. The entire park saw what happened and rushed over to pin the men down.

"Next time," she said, "actually try a little bit."

The men panicked and ran, but she easily caught up with them with her drones, even riding one like a hover board. It took thirty seconds to pin them down and bring the park into a whooping party station.

"Wow, you were so cool!" Fan girl.

"Well, what can I say? They were no match for my natural abilities," you can practically see her nose elongating with every praise.

"I wish I could move like that," fan boy.

"Get real! You'll never be that good!" And his little chum.

"Not IS-wise," she winked, "but I wouldn't mind someone with a little power and flexibility."

And then everyone freaked out. She was fuming at the forehead at her first non-Ichika flirting moment, but she never let it show. She spent the whole day hyping up the crowd with her flashy attitude and her IS prowess. And the social media lit. She kept urging the people to call up the IS development teams across the world and get a unit to Montreal. They stormed the cyber front, demanding an end to the drought. And once word spread that the renegade had entered Vancouver, and exchanged the word of Cecilia's presence, it would be a couple days before the flames joyous revolution engulfed the nation, but thanks to the combined efforts of...ahem... the skank and the asshole...there was no point in waiting around, especially since Cecilia had it in mind to manipulate this to her advantage.

Most notably, back in her room...

"Thanks for everything! We'll see you tomorrow, eh!" The girls waved.

"I'll be expecting you as well," Cecilia waved, "Ta-ta!" She closed the door and waltzed to the fridge. She opened the door expecting a nice cold bottle of water waiting for her. Well, yes she got that- "Ugh!" And 27 extras. "Who would ever-" She peered into the rear and found a note stuck to the light bulb:

Right on time, girl! But Chel...

-KTS

"Chel...oh no..." she quickly scanned her phone for anything regarding her-oh, fucking hell. There it is. She locked her phone in airplane mode, not for unwanted calls, but for her. Oh, boy. Tensions soured during the last couple months when they haven't spoken to each other, with that little morning outburst being their only comforting solace. But can one day undo that much damage? She thought about al the times she recklessly opened her mouth to say something, but was either brushed aside for comedic effect, or downplayed, even outright denied. And quickly dusted it off like it was nothing. She opened her mouth many times. This was no different. She would act like the usual dead beat that won her so many hearts so far.

"Ok..." she mentally prepared herself, "Phase 1 was completed on time...now for Phase 2..." she thought as she played the most recent voice mail and braced herself.

"Hello...Cecilia..." it was Chelsea, "I caught wind of what a ruckus you made in Canada...well, you and the renegade...and well, so did all of us across the pond. I can't believe I let you alone for a minute, because I knew you would get us into more trouble than necessary, but at the same time... I know I can't leave things between us as is, and neither can you. Therefore, I, along with Rachel, will hand deliver the Dream Duster from our motherland to Montreal City Hall, where we will expect to meet you with the Maple Slinger. Only then will I listen to...whatever you have to say. We will keep to your deadline of one week, so I imagine you only have five days eight hours to get your shit together."

"Well...ok, then..." Cecilia expected the worst, but this was the best case scenario possible. She smiled. She felt like she hadn't done anything on her own since being accepted into the Academy. This was a major accomplishment for her. No outside influences, no premeditated notions, she actually did it solely from the spur of the moment. And it prompted an appropriate response from the right person. Who would've thought? She ordered another round of room meals, of which she got at no cost due to her little stunt.

After dinner, she reflected on her actions in the bath. She spent a longer time than usual lathering her face. She couldn't even get herself to stop because of this exchange at the hotel mall:

Cecilia: "And that's why it's best to apply a light layer of red lipstick. Don't overdo it, ever."

Woman 1: "So, that's why my husband feels disgusted whenever we kiss."

Man: "Why's he freaking out about that? Personally, I prefer no makeup at all."

Cecilia: "Well, that's news to me."

Woman 2: "Yeah, why'd you prefer nothing on the face?"

Woman 1: "I thought you'd be captivated by our beauty?"

Man: "Well, makeup is great and all, but what's the point if it only hides your cheeks? Women look just as good naturally as they do with the stuff, hell, better even."

Woman 2: "Aww! We got us a hopeless romantic!"

Man: "Lay off, will ya?! You dragged me all the way out here!"

Woman 2: "And now you know whyyyyyyy~"

Man: "What-No! Get off!"

Woman 1: "Do you think the renegade would like a woman with natural charm?"

Cecilia: "Blech...why are you asking me?"

Woman 1: "Just curious..."

Cecilia: "He wouldn't appreciate any woman, period!"

Woman 2: "Not to mention he made out with a guy."

Cecilia: "OH GOD! BAD IMAGES IN MY BRAIN!"

But was it really a bad image? When they bore all for the world to see, feeling no shame, no remorse, when the heat of the moment was all that mattered, could one consider it bad? For some god forsaken reason, she found comparing herself to the renegade similar to comparing a zebra with white stripes to a white tiger with black stripes. One is elegant, stout, always leading a pack. The other is a fiery, fearsome loner. One blends in with friends in times of struggle. The other sticks his tongue out in the face of trouble. One tries to mask shortcomings and points to others. The other hides nothing, even forces the punishment on himself-

"Motherf-BLABBLUBBUBB-ugh! Hah...hah...hah..." ok, that last one was random. She slapped herself twice and left the bathroom.

But that random moment carried over to the makeup table, where she stared at the mirror for an hour trying to decode the sudden mind garbage. She used to be a duchess, she used to have to put up a front, and she used to hide her emotions behind a stalwart charade of a guardian. And now, here she was, cleared of all masks, robbed of everything except her money and her only remaining connection to Ichika. What was she thinking, letting him influence her thoughts? She tried in vain to get him to recognize her. Not even her most alluring looks could sway his heart.

Now here comes a ruffian maggot with his exact power, higher density. A prepubescent little harg with the sensibility of a dog and an ego the size of an elephant. Possibly going through puberty, doesn't know about, or couldn't care one bit about, looks and charms.

In other words...the perfect test subject.

As much as she hated to admit it, and she gagged over the thought, the renegade was her ticket back to her luxury titles home. She could see it all. She would hold the test pilot event. He would come to try and disrupt it. She would utterly pound him into the dust, while her lackeys defeated his lackeys. The UK would recognize her authority and welcome her back home. And Ichika would finally recognize her dominant womanhood and her natural beauty. Laura would be demonized due to her revenge plot, Chelsea would offer to make amends with her, Houki would offer her service to the world alliance, and all would be right in her world once more.

The what even this blahs. Oh, well. Fantasy was how she was able to pull off her most amazing feats. It's not a good reason to stop now. But that would mean...

She stared at her makeup kit. Over 1000 USD of disguises and boy toy charms, reduced to naught. She face palmed herself for wasting such a huge amount of money on a kit barely bigger than a car dashboard. "Oh...why did I bother..." Her mother's words were true to an extent. For a gala. Everywhere else, there was literally no need to spend 90 minutes on a pointless face battle. She decided to keep the small pink handbag, light pink lipstick, and lightweight mascara. Everything else went to the trash heap. She then sent a text to Chelsea:

With Rachel? Get a clue, woman.

She cracked. She never stood a friend up like that ever. This...was a breath of fresh air. A much needed one. She turned everything off and retired to bed, more determined than ever to run her mouth until her adversaries can't take it anymore.

 **-POLICE DEPARTMENT OF THE CITY OF MONTREAL: STATION 13-**

The two men who tried to gun down Cecilia were in a cell, when their door opened by an officer.

"Well, I don't know how," he said, "but he paid your bail in full. Get out and don't leave your homes again."

At their home...one of the men's homes, anyway...

"I know I told you to test her abilities, but yikes... she kicked both your asses, eh?"

"Yeah, we know...we honestly thought she lost her touch..."

"She has. If she hadn't, she would've beaten us much sooner."

"Now now, let's not lose sight of our goal. We cannot have any pilots in Canada."

"I know. Since that Squall escaped..."

"Well, she was killed off anyway, so that's good."

"But how do you know the renegade will join us?"

"Trust me. He will join, one way or another."

Oh...I am not sure that'll even cross his mind...

 **-LA BOTTEGA CAFE, BRITISH COLUMBIA PROVINCE-**

"She won't know what hit her after I land my 42-punch combo!" Sokoto declared to the crowd in true showoff fashion, "She still owes me after infecting me with the incurable cootie attack!"

"I knew it!" A boy screamed, then pointed to a girl, "You do have cooties!" The girl kissed him, and he shrieked in faux terror.

"Relax," Sokoto smugly said, "You can only get them from a rotten person with a cranky stanky heart." He patted the girl's head and she giggled, "And she's alright by me!"

"Well, if you say so..." the boy said distrustful.

"Oh! Have you ever given anyone else the same smooch and fluff?" A teenager asked.

"How was it when you did it with that guy?!" Another one asked, clearly a yaoi...obsessed fanatic...

"It felt good," Sokoto reflected, "We both needed some closure after Squall passed away, so we said our goodbyes and got the through it together."

Between the absolute flattery and wondrous noises that Sokoto didn't know he caused, nobody saw or heard Madoka and Autumn slam their heads down, breaking the table in three. Did he seriously not realize what he just said?

"Oh, you little minx!" A woman snuck up behind him, "I bet you think you're the bee's knees, aren't ya?"

"Naw, more like a cat, eh?" Another woman, "He's even got the cute little hair ear thing, look!"

Their auras got him flustered, so he shoved them aside to get some elbow room, "Personal space crowded please hold!"

"Ahh!"

Autumn jerked forward, "I know that moan."

"Wow...quite bold of you..." the women in the store gasped. The men whistled.

"What?" And here's where his true weakness is exposed! "Bold of what? What am I doing?"

"You mean...you don't know what you're grabbing?"

"No, what's so important about it?"

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" The whole store erupted, "HE'S A PURE HEARTED VIRGIN!"

"Yaagh..." Sokoto flinched as he sensed a sudden pinkness of the entire block.

"Oh, honey," Autumn creeped up and bear hugged him, "Don't tell me Squall didn't teach you about the tenderness of a man's touch..."

"Leggoame! What are you on about, woman?!" Sokoto flailed.

"Attention, everyone!" Autumn announced, "Phantom Task will hold a sex ed lesson in five minutes at that hostel, at no cost to you! Who wants to join, follow me!"

The entire shop was abandoned, save for Madoka.

"Please tell me he gets castrated by some UN asshole..." she groaned.

She took a chance glance out the window and saw the renegade being reduced to a rag doll as he was forcibly shoved into the small lodging apartment complex.

And right above them, a familiar blue haired fan woman who wasn't even trying to be subtle because no one can see her for some reason.

At this point, Madoka didn't care. She's been through so many emotional whiplashes in the last two days that she gave up. She motioned an imaginary airplane to take off, "GO, UN ASSHOLE."

"And the signal is received," Tatenashi winked and sent the footage of the cafe spectacle to her sister and her superiors in Russia, "Wait'll they see what a dunce the renegade actually is!"

She leaned back against the roof and fanned herself. For some reason, her fan lit up the kanji for...traitor. She cocked her head sideways. True, she has to manage three missions, one of which was completely bogus. But she never thought of betraying her friends. Oh, wait. That could be the problem. But not now.

She put away her fan and slept to the sweet soothing sound of the renegade's cries of agony, "PAGANS! COOTIE PAGANS! ALL OF YOU PAGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~~~"


	5. Not Again

_Part 5: Not Again..._

 **-IS ACADEMY, OFFSHORE JAPAN-**

"Alright, you know your homework," Chifuyu declared to her class, "Study the inputs and outputs of the IS maneuverability procedures through the weekend and get ready to share your findings with me come Homeroom."

"Yes, Orimura-sensei!" The class responded before the bell rang. Everyone left the room in a hurry. Except one student.

"Hokari," she walked to her, "You're not still thinking about the damage, are you?"

"Huh? Oh, not at all, sensei!" Hokari responded, "It's just...him..."

Out in the central park area, Ichika wrestling with five kids and three girls while Houki burst into laughter.

"How can he still be smiling after everything he's been through?" Hokari mused.

"He's a tough mudder, I'll tell you that," Chifuyu commented, "He's always had a good heart, even in the face of struggle."

She thought of the time in Tokyo DisneySea, when Ichika was not smiling. That time, she forbade herself from doing anything, because she felt they had to learn. She quickly shook it off when one of the kids literally shoved a bamboo katana up Ichika's ass and he ran backwards to stab the kid with the rear end.

"And as you can see," Chifuyu pointed, "being an absolute dunderhead sometimes helps. Especially if you constantly forget about why you were scared in the first place."

"I guess..." Hokari said, "Did you see him not smile at all?"

"Aside from just now, and during the heat of battle...three times. And I never want to relive those moments ever again."

Just then, her cellphone vibrated. Chifuyu threw it at the blackboard, which projected an urgent message from the UN and the Minister of Defense. "Back to your room, Hokari, and we never had this conversation."

"Pin the tail on the pony!" The kid who stabbed the butthole and yanked it out yelled.

"Ok, you want it?" Ichika rolled over into his bear leap stance, "You got it!" He charged on all fours and tackled the kid. But while he pinned him down, the others tackled and tickled him to no end.

"What happened to all that bravado earlier?!" Houki laughed.

"Wouldn't you like to knoAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAH!" Ichika's white flag was ripped apart by the kids' ruthless fingers.

Thank goodness a familiar, commanding voice saved him, "Ok, break it up, squirt! I need that rag doll still intact!"

The kids ran off, two of them very brave to stick their tongues out at her. Ichika panted, and Houki helped him up.

"Thanks for the save..." he wheezed.

"You sure you had it under control?" Houki asked.

"I'm not sure of nothing..." Ichika whimpered.

"Shake it off, you two," Chifuyu said, "We have a special guest."

 **-IS ACADEMY CONFERENCE ROOM-**

"This is Tachibana Sayako, Minister of Defense and Chairwoman of the Japanese IS Committee," Chifuyu stated, "She's here to install a international program for our current educational system."

"Yes, quite," Sayako kept glaring at Ichika, "I don't see why we have to include him in the picture. And the fact that he is the brother of the reigning Brunhilde is irrelevant to me."

"So is the result of your treatment of men, I assume," Ichika intervened.

"Watch your mouth," Sayako growled, "You may have hoodwinked everyone else in your backwater prefecture, but not me."

"Ichika," Chifuyu leaned back, "Get the UN for me, would you?"

"No need," Houki blurted out, "They're scheduled to arrive within ten seconds."

"YOU WHAT-WHY?!" Sayako screamed.

"Convenience!" Ichika faux praised.

"Fine! I get it!" Sayako slumped, "He is a registered instructor, after all..." she muttered begrudgingly.

And, lo and behold, the Detective Unit and the head of the Task Force have arrived. Once everything has settled, Sayako began with a 3D projection of the school, with an added barracks and launching pad.

"Now, the UN has sent the Task Force across the world, but there is concern that there may be more like the renegade hidden in plain sight. So, in preparation for a preemptive strike, we are placing heavy emphasis on field exercises and incorporating special operations into the curriculum."

"In other words," a UN detective said, "You're going to recklessly endanger second and third year students on the presumption that more men might rise up against you."

"That's your opinion..." Sayako nudged.

"But how is this any different than what she just said?" Chifuyu demanded.

Sayako choked a bit before she said, "Because this way, we can actually defend ourselves from future threats while the rest of the world pursues the renegade."

"And where will Ichika be in all of this?" Houki asked.

"We're still working the final draft, so we haven't allocated any personnel as of yet," Sayako said.

"Well, I don't see why Mr. Orimura can't lead this program," Houki blurted, "aside from his hardheadedness."

"Not the time, honey..." Ichika whispered.

"That has been taken into consideration...and it is currently our best option," that hurt Sayako to say.

"Curious..." the UN head whispered.

"I assume we have to shoehorn this distraction into our curriculum within one day?" Chifuyu griped.

"One week, actually..." Sayako said, "because once the program is in place, the Prime Minister is stepping down." A major bombshell, out of nowhere.

"What?! Why?!" Every single person in the room shouted in unison, except the UN head.

"Because we found that she only has males in the camps here," she said, "There are hybrid camps elsewhere across the world, housing makes for obvious reasons, and females for lacking in misandry."

"How could you?!" Sayako screamed.

"What did you expect?"

"I expected you to do nothing and let us do everything..."

"And that's exactly why you're in this rabbit hole," Chifuyu said.

"You should be siding with us, not your weakling of a bro-"

Chifuyu and Houki deployed their swords and pushed the blunt of their blades to Sayako's neck. "Say it," they gnarled, "I dare you to say it."

"For crying out loud, can we just skip to the end here?" Ichika facepalmed, "We have enough on our plate as is. We don't need this U-Turn to ground zero."

Chifuyu and Houki exhaled a harsh amount of air and withdrew their weapons. Houki went back to his side. Chifuyu folded her arms and leaned back against the desk. Sayako was scarred for life, but she didn't have any time to properly process the blades.

"Hey, focus," Ichika snapped his fingers and caught Sayako's attention, "What do I need to do to prepare the girls for defense against the renegade?"

Sayako threw a flash drive at him, but he caught it with two fingers. "Everything you need to do to prepare for the battle is in that drive. Don't screw this up." Ichika just nodded and went to his office while everyone else discussed the nitty-gritty.

Two hours later, everyone finished the meeting and left. Sayako returned to Tokyo in a sour mood because they were going to have Ichika head the Defense Programme, and Chifuyu and Houki as school principal and vice principal respectively. She had to let it past her, lest she forget why she came here in the first place. The rest of the UN people scattered throughout the campus to get everything set up for next week.

"So, now you know what a major pain in the ass this is," Chifuyu said to Houki.

"Oh, yeah..." Houki nodded.

"Wish I could say I expected it... but thanks to the renegade and...ugh, Phantom Task..."

"Why can't we just go after them right now?"

"The UN has sanctioned a task force already, not to mention the Empress has gone loopy and made everyone in the damn country go pacifist..."

"Oh, right. Haha, she was so mad when we vouched for him."

"And Ichika vouched for the renegade..."

"That was out of character for him...why don't you go check on him. I'll check out the new pads."

"Did the Academy leak again?"

"We never stopped leaking since opening day."

They shared a laugh and separated. Houki walked slowly to the teacher's lounge and found the door still opened. She walked in and heard a small hum of air leaking through a hole somewhere. She jolted and creeped her way in.

It was just Ichika sleeping on the couch, in classic test cram fashion. She walked over and checked out what he was given. It was a set of ten folders, with details on how to set up and implement the prog-wait a second.

Well, no wonder why he blanked out halfway through the first folder, and no wonder why Sayako was such a stick in the mud. This thing was preparing him to replace her as Defense Minister. At 20? Ohhhhhhhhh, that's why. But knowing him, he'll take the challenge anyway because of the situation back in Chūbu. On top of that, he has some knowledge of female two-timing thanks to his time in the Academy, and incredible endurance thanks to his never ending spartan training.

In a country haunted by the ghost of the Silverio Gospel...

Houki put the laptop on the desk and cuddled up with him.

 **-BAR IKKEI, HOKKAIDO PREFECTURE-**

It was 01:03 local time, and Chifuyu drank to her heart's content. She was really pissed, in both senses of the word. She thought of the weight of her worst fears come true, which led to her rash decision to fire Maya for her little episode in New York. Granted, it was inevitable since they've all been stressed to their limits and were unable to bear the weight anymore, but even she didn't force herself down on him, or the others. Or to admit to a fact only Maya figured out after the firing: she never got over her brother complex. So, she was absolutely livid when she saw Maya enter the pub.

"What in the-WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" She screamed.

"I live here," Maya answered.

"In the pub?"

"No, no. In Sapporo. I come by here every now and then to relieve myself," Maya casually walked to the stool, "much like yourself."

"Quite the mouth you got there, Maya," Chifuyu growled, "You sure you got your fill of mayonnaise?"

"Hey, everybody acted inappropriately, including you, when you flipped out at the lady with a bajillion bags. For what reason, I wonder..."

"Don't you put that on me..." she got ignored by her own subordinate. Maya drank a martini glass while Chifuyu went back to her seat and put her head down. The TV above them showed a report of Phantom Task and Cecilia Alcott last seen in Canada, with the latter brazenly promising to end Canada's pilot drought.

"The fuck is she doing there?" Chifuyu said.

"Who knows?" Maya said, "As far as I can tell, she's trying not to let her ban on Ichika get to her." And the two traded verbal fisticuffs with each other just to get their minds off the struggles. And that evolved into physical fisticuffs for which Maya was easily booted outside. Chifuyu took a few...dozen...teeth before she gave up and left. When they saw each other, they laughed it off as if it was nothing and stumbled their way down the street. Actually, Maya's still sober.

"Ugh...you're heavy..." She grunted as she didn't have the strength to lug Chifuyu to the stoplight.

"*HIC* You callin' me fat, wommmmmaan?!" Chifuyu slurred, "Hhhhhhoo could fogggggeeeeet *HIC* dem cow tits uyyyyyurs..."

"That's just mean..."

"*BELCH* Fu*HIC*king fight back, dammit! Fight back!" Chifuyu forced herself off Maya's shoulder and leaped onto the grass, "RAGE AGAINST THE GODDAMN MACHINES!" And then she puked and fell into Maya's bust, "Ahhhhhh...so fluffy..."

"Um...You're..." Maya tried to hold it in.

"Ahhhhhh, this is bliss..." WAKE UP ALREADY, WOMAN! And Maya lost her cool. Great. The renegade's handiwork is in full force.

 **-TENSOCHI PARK, IWATE PREFECTURE-**

Tabane and Chloe were having tea just off the park's Sakura Way, under the full moon.

"The sakura are not yet in full bloom," Chloe commented, "the moon is still somewhat clouded by the ashes, and the renegade is still on the loose. Why are we picnicking here and now?"

"Let's just say that I've hit writers' block," Tabane stretched her arms out, "and I need some R and R to refuel my cells and get me back in track." She threw a biscuit halfway in her mouth, and poured some tea for the both of them, "Besides, now that the pus piss is off the Japanese grid, I can finally plan my revenge."

"You're not still hung up on him crushing your ears, are you?"

"Oh, yeah," Tabane munched on a cucumber sandwich, "Put him together with his possé, and combine them into one grotesque concoction. The are the first person to ever beat me."

"Master, that was not even a real match..."

"What? Can't I have a little pride?" Tabane winked. They chuckled as they went on with their picnic. They enjoyed the finally slow environment around them. For ten seconds.

"Speaking of..." Tabane said slyly, "That was quite the smooch you gave him."

"I meant it," Chloe simply said, "I truly was amazed by how he was able to keep his heart pure."

Tabane got in earshot range and whispered, "Is that why you wanted to feeeeeeel it?"

Chloe blushed and jumped and opened her eyes. And then they were in a theater with a clip from her POV, feeling up his udder and exchanging spit with him.

"Hahaaa! That's the reaction I was looking for!" Tabane laughed as Chloe shut her powers off and covered herself with a blanket.

"What I wouldn't give to undo that moment..." Chloe muffled.

"Heehee, I feel you..." Tabane patted her back, "I'd be embarrassed too..."

"No, you wouldn't..."

"Yeah. I'd beat the ever loving shit out of him! Ha haaaaaa!"

Chloe recovered and took out a very old camera.

"Ew...you still hang on to that junk?" Tabane noticed the thing.

"Why not?" Chloe said, "It's a memento of my homeland."

"Gross," Tabane winced, "Why don't you throw that thing away already?"

"When I'm ready to let go. I plan on deleting my memories tonight."

"Eh. Sure," Tabane tossed her a sandwich, "In the meantime, let's have a toast!"

"To what?"

"To every single thing we're going to fuck up on this earth!"

They clicked teacups and enjoyed their time. For all this was worth, Chloe enjoyed this moment. And Tabane definitely like the idea of goofing around, even though she does it every day. But this was just taking pictures, and conversing with the local women in the area. But that camera also hid a dark secret that was successfully erased from history. And the camera. Chloe took pictures of Tabane absolutely screwing with the populace. She was also the one who programmed the old outdated camera to capture the moments of world deception and snuck them into a random core, which just so happened to be the Silverio Gospel's. While they were activating its core, she went into the computer world and burned the film into its mind, giving it a permanent storage outside of Tabane's sight. The perfect untraceable evidence.

And to this day, no one knows, not even Tabane.

Chloe could never bring herself to tell her savior that the missile test went too far. She couldn't go against her wishes. And she was fine with that. As long as it gave her a reason to keep herself away from the eyes of the world, she would go along with anything Tabane said. Even if it contracted her own morals.

An hour later, they were back in their hideout. Tabane had begun planning her revenge by preparing a brand new personal model specifically for use against brawler type units. Chloe just went to her room and began the process of sleeping maintenance. She had already erased her reasons for leaking the info to the Gospel. Now she will erase everything else to retain her absolute loyalty.

Meanwhile, Tabane was tinkering away at her newest tools. She was always one step ahead of the rest of the world, but this is the one case where she couldn't figure out how the renegade unlocked the Gospel's code. She knew Chloe had leaked the photos; hell, she set herself up to be easily captured on photo, but Chloe didn't know. She kept it a secret, all so she could figure out how to get that info out of the core, and figure out the Black Box within.

Does the renegade know something she doesn't? That would be a first. She thought about how he quickly learned all that mumbo jumbo to sneak into Shibuya Technologies, but then the stupidest tabloids shunted her monitor:

"IDIOT RENEGADE LITERALLY KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES"

Nope. Just a thick headed moron with a lot of street smarts. "Well, goddamn..." she went back to work. She may have lost this game, but the match was still on. Total victory was a long way for both of them.

 **-ROTES RATHAUS, FEDERAL STATE OF BERLIN-**

"And when do I depart for North America?" Clarissa asked a panel.

"It has been decided that the Main division will engage the renegade in Canada," the chairman said, "You will go to Washington D.C within three days."

"Why America?"

"We anticipate the main division failing to capture the renegade, and we suspect that he will target the President soon after evading pursuit."

"I see. Anything else?"

"No. Captain Bodewig will brief you outside."

"Laura?" Clarissa seemed puzzled. What's Laura still doing in the Capitol? She went out to the lobby and found her finishing her conversation with other high officials.

"Laura!" Clarissa ran up to her, "What are you doing here?"

"Actually, I came to see you," Laura explained, "With all that is going on, I will no longer have the time to watch the Schwarzer Hase regiment."

"What?!" Clarissa exclaimed, "But you are the best in the entire army in terms of IS combat!"

"I know, and that is why I must temporarily leave the regiment."

"Temp? Ok..." Clarissa sighed, "But who will take your place?"

Laura put her hand to Clarissa's shoulder, "You will."

"Eh? Was hast du gesagt? _(What did you say?)_ " Clarissa was befuddled.

"My dearest friend, how do I say this?" Laura said, "You have been a pivotal part of every step in my journey. You even put yourself on the line to stop Phantom Task and bring victory to our team."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Clarissa didn't want to hear it, but she ended up saying in her head anyway.

Laura giggled, "Relax. If everything goes as planned, it will only be for six months."

"But if it doesn't go as planned? Then what? What will we do without you?"

"You already have your orders, don't you?" Laura reassured her, "You'll simply go back to America and launch a worldwide manslaughter for the renegade."

"You really hate the renegade, don't you..."

"It's because of him that I can no longer get payback for being rejected by my own bride. He made me forget all about Ichika, and it's about time they both pay."

"Didn't you give him your...you know..." Clarissa sheepishly referred to the time when half of the squad was piss drunk.

"Well, that no longer counts because he took it and ripped it to ashes! He cast it away as if it were a used tea bag! I'm going to use this program to force him into so small a corner I shall force him to give me back my-"

"Captain!"

"WHAT?!"

"Your papers..."

Oops. Laura got so angry she tore up everything she got from every meeting she went to. Including the leather portfolio.

"Well..." Laura dusted herself off, "I shall contact you once everything is in order."

"Anything I can do to help?" Clarissa asked.

Laura hugged her, "No. You've done more than enough. You're not my shadow anymore." And with that, she went back to the main hall to finalize the project.

Clarissa felt a mixture of gratitude, pride, and confusion. Her friend with whom she has shared her entire army life with. They will now part ways. They've been through thick and thin, all to train each other for the final mission. She nodded and went back to the base to prepare for her departure.

But the second she entered her quarters, she smelled something burning, "Hmm? Incense and...honeysuckle. No. No, no, no, no, no!" She kicked the door down and saw her subordinates burning her entire manga collection, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!"

"Apologizes, Commander," an SH member bowed, "Captain's orders."

"Ack!" They must have seen how she freaked out when the Golden Dawn changed shape! They knew she read way too much monster horror manga! "Do whatever you must..." she went back to the main computer and displayed the renegade's current location, "but we already have a team led by Sarashiki en route to Toronto. We will intercept should he escape to America."

"But what if he decides to go to the UK?"

"Then, we'll lure him our way and take him for ourselves."

"What?!" Everyone in the barracks looked towards Clarissa.

"I'm serious," Clarissa declared, "We cannot allow him even the tiniest bit of fresh air after the humiliating defeats he handed us. Not to mention he cost us many of our soldiers and pilots." She pulled up an X-Ray of the renegade she saved for a few months, "And even if we were required to experiment on him, who says we need him alive? We can perform as many autopsies as we please until we all have our fill."

The other members nodded. Why are they bothering to keep him alive when they could've easily finished him off had they not held back.

"So, we're all going?" A member said.

"Yes," Clarissa said, "And I've just received word that the Brunhilde herself will join the fight."

"Seriously?!"

"Wait, who will watch over the IS Academy?!"

"Maya Yamada and a team of UN investigators," Clarissa uploaded to the display board, "They will guide the students while keeping their watchful eyes on Japan, leaving us complete freedom to smash the renegade."

"Well, isn't this an amazing convenience."

"Indeed, and we must capitalize on it immediately," Clarissa commanded, "Everyone pack now. We leave tomorrow."

"Jawhol, Kommandant." They all said and left to get ready.

Clarissa turned back to the screen. She filled her mind with all those moments of ire, how she was repeatedly compared to the paganism population of the begotten realm. She couldn't stand the smirk on his face when he insulted her and her friends and got away with it.

"You were better off when we were just "pagan women"," she muttered, "but now you have the wrath of the Schwarzer Hase coming for you. Your head will be ours."

 **-BC PLACE, BRITISH COLUMBIA PROVINCE; NEXT DAY-**

"I never thought I'd see the day..." Autumn whispered.

"What? Him running 10 laps nonstop?" Madoka said.

"No...when he couldn't contain his embarrassment..."

"Oh. I was thinking "They even let us in here!" or some shit like that..."

"Give it up, renegade!" Autumn shouted, "No one can forget a night like last night!"

"WELL, I WILL!" Sokoto screamed under his breath.

"You sure about that? Everyone in the whole damn country knows what a sexual dunce you are!"

"AND WHOSE FAULT IS THAT, MOTH WOMAN?!" Sokoto couldn't take it anymore, "You know what, screw it. I'm going outside!" He changed course and ran to the pits, leaped up the rails, and out of the stadium.

"Speaking of," Madoka said, "where are those UN geeks anyway?"

"Oh, with the attraction we stirred?" Autumn leaned back against the bleachers, "I think they're already here, lying in wait until we take one foot outside."

"Huh..." Madoka rummaged through any fancy delusions that resulted in hearing those words, bearing in her mind the kind of education he received yesterday, and the warm reception his oriental public gave his tabloid story. She walked towards the exit.

"Aww, don't tell me you're worried about him!" Autumn joked before getting pelted with Madoka's shield bits.

Sokoto made it to the bridge over False Creek before slowing down and ranting,

"Silvia, let me tell you. These Canadians are VICIOUS! I have no idea what got into these people! They act like they ain't never seen a pilot before! I know that's probably why they're acting like that, but whatever! Hell no, I didn't tell them that Squall was a pilot, or that I met with her father! You know what they'll do to me if I tell them that?! PAGAN THINGS! I am constantly on the lookout now, keeping a weary eye on-" (Car honk fan girls) "Them...See?! There's no end to them! Would it even matter if I was just a tourist-oh, I forgot to mention! Hair Drills is here! Y'know, the British Cootie monster?! Yeah, she's here, and apparently, she wants to find the first Canadian pilot! I don't buy it. I can't read auras from that big a distance, but she got that look in her eyes that screams, "GIVE ME ATTENTION DAMN YOU!", or something like that. God, is there anyone in this whole world who's not simple-minded love dove li-" (Sensing three mellow auras to the left in the boat below him) "Ohhhhh, thank god! I gotta take out my humiliation on a couple of, I hope they're UN agents because, derp most wanted...I'll let you know how it goes."

He walked to the rail and stared at the approaching boat, whose passengers stared right back. He waved at them. They smiled and waved back. One of them partially deployed her IS. He charged his shield and jumped down.

 _No rest for the wicked, not even in the one country that embraces them with open arms. Phantom Task has only scratched the surface of the mysteries surrounding Canada. The rest of the world is mobilizing for what may prove to be the most conspiracy-riddle era of the IS. No one seems to care that they have all lost trust in the world power, and are taking matters into their own hands. The most foolhardy of them, Cecilia Alcott, who will undergo the biggest test of her life as she works to restore her name and her reputation. To pass, however, she must overcome one devastating mistake she made. One that will be reenacted by people who don't even know they're reenacting it._

 _The virus rampages once more on the next episode of Infinite Stratos...Virus._


End file.
